Hear me, anyone?
by Windy Rain
Summary: Being warped into a game isn't really what you'd think - try being an NPC. Rating may change later on. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1: Arrival

Author's note: I've written some other stuff before and perhaps some of you have read them. I deleted them since I felt they needed more revising and editing. Also, I ran out of ideas to continue. I'm thinking of taking plenty of time to fix them, and I decided to start a new one while I'm at it.

Please review. I practically feed on comments. Encouragements are delicious and criticism is good for my health lol. I would really appreciate a lot of pointers and point outs on any mistakes or errors. Plus, suggestions are very much welcome. Flames will be deleted without hesitation, though.

Disclaimer: It's really troublesome, but I guess I'll have to say this every chapter: I don't own anything.

* * *

There are a lot of stories of being warped into games and anime. I've read plenty and seen plenty. Most of them were pretty good stories, and I loved to imagine what it was like to be in a world where anything was possible. Magic, swordsmanship, pokemon, you name it.

I didn't imagine I'd actually be warped into one, though.

I'm absolutely positively sure that I had been napping on the living room couch on a sunday afternoon. However, there was a light breeze that woke me up. I wondered if my mom got back from the supermarket already with snacks and maybe the wind blew when she opened the front door. I opened my eyes to welcome those cheesy crackers.

My mom wasn't home. In fact, _I_ wasn't home. Instead of the comfortable leather couch, I was lying on the ground full of grass and flowers and soft soil. There was a roof of trees above my head with spots of sky visible through the leaves and other trees that were surrounding me like a wall.

My first thought was that I was already dead and perhaps this was heaven - the truth was, this place was beautiful at first sight.

However, after a few pinches and punches to check if I was really dead or if it was a dream, the answers were both no. I wasn't dead and this wasn't a dream. I had clearly been removed from my house into some forest. I got up and yelled,

"Mom? Dad? Hello, anyone?"

Only the rustling of leaves told me I was alone. Okay, this didn't look entertaining. I tried hard not to panic and swallowed back those fears that were starting to envelope me. I needed to think straight. After taking a few gulps of air to calm myself, I sat with my legs crossed and tried hard to meditate first before thinking about the situation. I could tell it took a long time for me to calm down since the sky was starting to change color.

Maybe I was kidnapped? That wasn't likely. Although I slept deeply, I would've known if someone carried me. Well, if they knocked me out first with drugs then of course, that would be an entirely different situation...However, kidnappers wouldn't just throw their victims in the forest without gaining any profit. If they wanted to erase evidence of their crime, which is me, then they would've killed me before I woke up. Breathing with relief, I tossed that idea aside and considered other things.

My clothes were the way I wore them before I threw myself on the couch. A pink t-shirt with black shorts. I was barefoot, and - oh I should've realized this earlier, but my glasses weren't with me. I wasn't exactly blind without glasses since I can see the outlines of whatever is around and tell what color is which. In short, I can tell a mouse and a computer mouse apart without my glasses on. Still, everything is very blurry and I need my glasses to see properly. I left them on the coffee table, so whoever brought me here didn't care to bring them along.

Barefoot and no glasses. I couldn't just go walking around, then. I wouldn't run into trees and walls of course, but it was going to be difficult to see ahead of me. Besides, stepping on small pointy rocks that aren't visible won't be really fun.

Still, what choice did I have? I got up, picked any direction and started to walk carefully. Maybe staying where I woke up would be better than going around half-blind, but the chances of somebody finding me in this forest was close to zero. I had to get out of here in case there were wild animals.

I stepped on a twig and it snapped. A few birds squeaked and flew out of a nearby tree, surprised. Odd, they looked like a whole bunch of starlys...

Wait, they didn't _look_ like starlys. They _were_ starlys.

This was a big shock. _Starlys_? Bird _pokemons_? I watched where they just were. It was hard to believe what I just saw.

A reddish-orange thingy climbed down from another tree and moved across the grass. I took a closer look at it and discovered it was a wurmple.

I screamed and darted forward, forgetting the pricks on my soles and scratches on my toes. Maybe I was seeing things - my eyesight wasn't good. Maybe I was losing it. Yes, at that moment I was definitely losing it. It had to be some hallucination. My brain must have been addled in a way or another...

_WHAM!_ I tripped over a stray root and slammed into something, or rather, someone. A large man with a lot of camping stuff was rolling on the ground, groaning.

"Oww... Watch where you're goi - Hey!"

"I'm really sorry! Oh, but I'm glad I met someone! Can you please tell me where we are? I suddenly appeared here out of nowhere and I have no idea what happened to me. I don't want you to get the wrong impression, but I think someone drugged me. I can see pokemon!"

I don't know if I explained my situation right, but I think I did. If I had my glasses on, then I would've been able to see his expression well during the long pause. When he finally said something, he sounded doubtful.

"I'd better take you to the police. No wait, I'll call them to meet us at the forest entrance."

"Good thinking! Thanks for helping!"

I felt relieved. Everything will be alright now. The police will help me get home, and I would get any necessary treatment for seeing pokemon... I didn't say anything to the camping guy while we picked our way out of the forest. Lucky he knew which way to go. We were out of the forest in a few moments time. I bounded up and down in joy as I skipped over to the large sign post standing in front of the entrance of the forest.

'North to Eterna City. South to Jubilife City.'

This is a joke, right? This has to be a joke. There's no such place called Eterna or Juilife City in real life. They're both cities in the 4th generation pokemon games...

"Oi! Officer Jenny!"

_Officer Jenny_? No, please... let it be a random policewoman with the name Jenny... please...

Wrong again. Blue-green hair spiked at the ends and a few wavy bangs beneath her cap, it was the exact Jenny I didn't want to meet. To make things worse, Jenny wasn't the only person rushing over to see me... A woman with a pink twin-donut hairstyle came straight up to me and wrapped a blanket over my shoulders, blocking my view in the process and preventing me from seeing others.

_'Nurse Joy' _I thought with a shudder. People were talking in the background and I tried listening to them.

"...I don't know how or why he was there. Save the clothes, he says he must've been drugged cause he can see pokemon."

"And he didn't know where he was?"

Wait a minute, _he_? I'm a girl! I won't say that I'm girlish looking, but can't you tell from my voice? Guys my age definitely sound like _guys_.

"Can't we see him?"

"He's been gone for so long..."

No, I don't want to see anyone right now. I don't know what they're talking about, and I didn't want to know. I was afraid I might get a heart attack if anymore familiar faces appeared. I held on tightly to Nurse Joy and moaned slightly, burying my face into her shoulder. At least she would treat me like a patient who needs peace. She shoved away the bystanders and helped me in the police car.

"He isn't in the right state to talk. I'm sorry, but we'll have to take him to the hospital and keep him at least overnight. No visitors allowed during the time being."

Yes, please do that. Give me some room and time to think.

* * *

I never thought I'd look forward to being hospitalized. Thankfully, the doctors in Jubilife City Hospital just looked like your ordinary doctors you see in real life. I had no trouble talking with them while they examined my health.

I was given a private ward and decided to make the most out of it. I stayed up all night thinking about the situation.

No matter how I didn't want to accept it, I had to admit this was not a dream. I wasn't drugged either. I was in the world of Pokemon, and Sinnoh at that. Somehow I was warped inside a famous game for an unknown reason out of the blue when I was taking a nap.

People seemed to know me, but toss that aside since I can ask them later. I didn't have the faintest idea why they kept calling me a boy, though. I checked my body several times in the hospital restroom and I'm 100% sure I'm female. Well, that's not important.

By adding up every fact, I arrived at one conclusion - there is a very crucial, critical reason why I was brought here. Perhaps it is like one of those old fairytales where you're brought into some weird dimension and you have to complete a mission to go home. Maybe this is no different. Maybe I've gotta collect all eight gym badges and beat the elite four and become champion. Maybe I've gotta defeat an evil crime syndicate and save the world. Maybe I've gotta catch some legendary pokemon from running wild.

Legendary pokemon...that's it! _Dialga and Palkia_! The gods of time and space! If I can just ask them nicely, they might be able to send me back home. After all, they're the rulers of dimensions and stuff...or do I need to search for Arceus?

However, according to the games and other sources, Mt. Coronet is the only place I could meet them. There's also a low possibility that they'd actually be there. Moreover, I'll need some strong pokemons to take with me in case wild pokemons attack. Well, that's something to worry about later...

Okay, so first thing I have to do is get a pokemon (or catch one) and train first. Then I'll go to Mt. Coronet. If the gods are there, I'll try asking. If they're not there, or if they're unable to send me home... I'll think of another plan then.

* * *

Anything is welcome except flames.


	2. Chapter 2: FYI

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

Feeling better with the plan in mind, I eagerly awaited the test results from the doctors. I had no health problems, so they should be able to release me soon. I was busy thinking about which pokemon to start with when a doctor returned with Nurse Joy. Both looked very grim.

"We got your test results, and you're physically healthy. However, there is one small problem that you might already know..."

What? Did I have some rare kind of disease that didn't show? Some kind of illness that's well hidden beneath a healthy body? I started to worry. The doctor took a deep breath before saying,

"You're a girl."

I blinked. _Was that all?_

"So? Is that the big news? I was a girl ever since I was born... Oh, are you trying to say something's wrong with my DNA?"

They looked confused. Shuffling through the papers, Nurse Joy asked me quietly,

"You didn't say your name... Can you tell us who you are and where you are from?"

"Sure. My name is..."

Wait, what was my name? I suddenly forgot. Well, these kind of things happen sometimes so I went on to say where I was from...only to realize that I had forgotten where I lived, too.

"Err...I can't remember right now, but I'll tell you later."

They exchanged some difficult medical words and I heard something like 'amnesia'.

"Do you remember anything before you ended up in Eterna Forest?" The doctor asked.

"I was napping on the couch at home," I said with a shrug. "I don't know how I got in that forest, especially when this place is not part of where I used to be."

"What do you mean by that?" Nurse Joy was making some notes.

"I'm from a world where pokemon don't exist. Well, people know about pokemon itself since it's a really famous game series - "

I was cut off when the door to my private chamber got separated with the hinges and fell to the floor with a loud _slam_, revealing a group of female reporters and cameramen. Nurse Joy immediately pushed a button on my bedside table and yelled, "SECURITY!"

However, they were quick to act. A reporter positioned herself next to my bed, shoving the doctor and Nurse Joy out of the way.

"We bring you an exclusive live broadcast interview from our gym leader who went missing. Was it kidnap, or was it his own decision to leave so suddenly? What made him come back after making everyone in Sinnoh worry over him day and night? This is the moment to learn the truth behind those eyes of our gym leader from his own mouth."

_Gym leader_? Did she just say I was a gym leader?

"A word if you please." The reporter placed her microphone in front of me, with an excited expression. Just looking at that camera in front of me was making me sick, so I shook my head vigorously.

"Please! You are upsetting the patient! No questions allowed until we've released him." Fortunately, Officer Jenny appeared with several growlithes and blisseys to push them out of the ward.

"We're very sorry, but you're going to have to move. There's another chamber down the hall that would give us privacy."

I nodded and gathered my clothes (by the way, I had changed into those hospital pajamas, or whatever you call them, when the doctors examined me). In a few minutes we were in the other room and ready to continue our conversation again.

"So you were saying... you come from a world where pokemon don't exist?"

"Exactly. Though pokemon itself is very well known as a game series."

"Game series?" Nurse Joy put down her clipboard and stared at me.

"Yeah. Where we are right now isn't the real world. It's a game world. You're all characters of the game and - "

_SLAM!_ The door swung open - making Nurse Joy palm-face herself (didn't they lock it properly?), but this time I saw very familiar faces.

Cynthia, current champion of the Sinnoh League, with Cheryl and Mira carrying flowers.

"No visitors allowed!" Nurse Joy said loudly. However, Cynthia didn't budge.

"Excuse me, but we have a very important matter to discuss. It has to be now. I promise to leave soon. You can stay and listen in case he doesn't get well."

Huffing, Nurse Joy stepped aside with the doctor and let Cynthia stand next to my bed. Even without my glasses I could see that Cynthia was a beautiful woman, yet a bit strict. Like those typical beauty teachers.

"By the way, he doesn't seem to remember much about anything before being found in the forest." The doctor informed her.

"He doesn't?" Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "That could be a problem... do you know who I am? And those two?"

I swallowed nervously before replying.

"Well, I _do _know who you are... You're Cynthia, and that's Cheryl and Mira." Cynthia let out a sigh of relief.

"Yay, he remembers us!" Mira said happily as she skipped over to place a potted plant on the bedside table.

"Still, it's too early to say it's okay. It's going to be a big trouble for us if he can't continue his gym leader duties. You see, after you disappeared, we couldn't just leave the gym empty so the association opened a tournament to decide a new gym leader in case you didn't come back. There was a winner, but the judges said he lacked the proper skills and strategy. As you may know, or may not remember, you can't just crush every challenger to win against them. It takes lots of training to make a gym leader who knows how to battle people considering their level and style."

"So...who's looking over the gym now?" I wondered. They're all thinking I'm a gym leader...when I'm not. I tried to think of who I resembled most...

"They're taking turns." Cynthia jerked a thumb over her shoulder, indicating Cheryl. Mira plopped on my bed, grinning. "Well, the association wanted Riley or Buck to take your place temporarily, but they both said they couldn't leave their training grounds. Marley was another option, but she's not well suited as a gym leader."

Forget what she said - I only heard one word. _Riley_.

"Riley! I need to see Riley! Can you bring him over? Now?" I asked wildly. Cynthia looked confused.

"If it's about him refusing to take your position - "

"No! I need his powers! _His aura powers_! He can identify people with aura, right? I need to know who I am, and I feel Riley's the only one I can trust!"

Mira's eyes widened.

"Do you mean you can't remember who you are?"

* * *

After a few hours, Riley was standing in my new ward. His eyes were closed and hands outstretched towards me, concentrating on reading my aura. It all came down to his conclusion. I hoped he couldn't read my thoughts, since I just couldn't help imagining what kind of body he would have underneath that neat blue suit. Man, he did look really hot up close just as he was in the anime.

When he finally put his hands down and opened his eyes, everyone watched him in silence as if he was about to announce a death sentence.

"Well, technically it's the same you. Only for a small difference. I wonder what happened to you... your gender is different."

Cynthia glanced at me before looking back at Riley.

"When I heard his voice, I thought he caught some kind of cold that made his voice high-pitched, but he's a _girl?_"

"He is. Well, _she _is. Don't worry, though. She's the same old gym leader we all knew before she disappeared. We'll need to give her some time until her memory comes back."

"I guess so..."

I tried hard not to roll my eyes. Wait all you want - I don't have any memories of being here.

"I think it won't take so long, seeing that she remembers I can read aura. Maybe she'll be able to recover better on the battle field. We'll need to test her and check if her skills are still fit for a gym leader."

"Maybe," Cheryl opened her mouth for the first time. Everyone's eyes moved over to her and she went scarlet. "Maybe Byron might be able to bring back some memories."

"Of all the people in the world, why Byron?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.

"He's your father, that's why."

* * *

Now here I was, face to face with my supposed father, Byron. I always imagined him to be a very wild rough character, but in fact he was quite gentle. I was surprised when he just sat on the edge of my bed and didn't say anything. I expected him to yell at me but he didn't.

"You can ask me anything." I said, playing with the end of the bed sheets. It's been a while since the four visitors left, and Nurse Joy said she and the doctor would give was plenty of time to talk (I think she already gave up on blocking visitors).

"I don't know what to say. My son went missing a few weeks ago and came back with his memory half-erased...and turned into a girl." He said, toying with his shovel. It made metal scratching sounds on the floor, which was starting to annoy me.

Sighing, I looked at him directly. He, at the very least, needed to hear my words.

"Listen, _I'm not your son_, no matter how much I resemble him. Yes, I've got shoulder-length red hair... yes, I need glasses to see...and _yes_, I know what a gym leader is like since people told me. I don't want to pain you, but _I'm not Roark_."

He shook his head and stood up.

"The doctors were right. You need some rest. I don't know what happened to you that made you forget like that, but you don't have to try remember everything. Just get well."

He took out a pokeball from his pocket and handed it to me.

"He missed you a lot."

I released the pokemon from the ball, and a little blue-headed dinosaur growled eagerly.

Fate was playing with me. I had no choice. I was going to have to play along as the gym leader of Oreburgh.

Guess I have one more thing to do before I search for the gods of dimension - finding out where the real Roark is.

* * *

Author's note: Reviews and suggestions are the most fantastic things in the world. Flames are only for cooking.


	3. Chapter 3: First Battle with Dawn

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

Byron asked me if I needed anything. I asked him for my clothes without hesitation. If I was going to play along as Roark, I'll definitely have to look like him first. He said he'll send them with the Staravia Delivery Service as soon as he got home.

After he left, Nurse Joy came back. This time, without the doctor. Stress was all over her face and I didn't want to think what would happen if there were anymore visitors.

"So, shall we continue? You said this place is a game world?"

I wasn't sure whether if I should keep telling the truth. Did it really matter now? They weren't going to believe whatever I say and probably conclude that I'll need mental treatment. I needed to get out of here as soon as possible and start training. I had to go find the dimension gods - and the real Roark. I don't have time for needless therapy.

"Well, yes. You can just think I had a bad dream, though. I mean, maybe I dreamt that this place was a game world..."

Her face brightened and she scribbled down some notes. Cranidos perked up at the sound.

"Oh, good! You're memory seems to be recovering. It's not much, but it's a start."

See what I mean?

"I guess all those visitors affected you in one way or another..." She said thoughtfully. "Maybe it's best if you go home."

"But you said I was going to have to stay awhile."

"Only if we feel you need medical attention, which you don't seem to need. You can tell me when you're ready to leave, I'll be at the nurse's lounge."

The moment she turned to leave, I remembered something.

"Wait! Do you have an eye specialist here?"

* * *

I got new glasses for free, and the world was looking better through the lens. It hadn't been uncomfortable without them since I was in the hospital all along. Still, it's better than having blurry vision.

Byron's package arrived not so long after. Mining clothes as I expected. I changed into those, wearing my pink T-shirt and black shorts underneath the leather clothes. Surprisingly, they fit me well. Did this guy have a small figure in reality? Or maybe fate changed these clothes to my size...even the boots fit me. Cranidos seemed to like me better in the clothes his real master used to wear.

Well, no time to think. Anything left behind? Nope. I went to tell Nurse Joy that I was leaving, with Cranidos trotting beside me.

"Good-bye! Hope your memory returns soon!"

The moment I stepped out of the hospital, there were camera flashes, and reporters were shouting all at once that I couldn't understand what they were saying. Cranidos clutched my legs while trying to hide. Being careful not to tread over him, I backed into the hospital lobby. Just how was I going to get to Oreburgh through all those people...

"Need an escort?" A small girl with a pink twin-tailed hairstyle jumped out from behing the information desk. I was glad to see her.

"Mira? What are you doing here?"

"I saw them lurking around when I left. Cheryl and Riley said they would clear the area, but Cynthia said it would be better if _I _helped." She took out her pokeball and released her kadabra.

"I'll teleport you to the Oreburgh Gym. That way we don't waste energy." This girl was a genius. I must remember to make a Mira fan-club on my blog when I'm back in the real world.

"Ready? Kadabra, use Teleport!"

I didn't feel anything. In fact, my surroundings changed within a blink of an eye and I was in front of a large gym. I looked around to see a brownish city with lots of boulders. There was also the famous mining site. Cranidos seemed delighted to be back home.

"Thanks a million, Mira."

"No problem. Say, if there's a challenger here, can I watch?"

"You can... but I'm not sure if I'll be able to battle well..."

"You'll be fine! Let's go in!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me inside the gym. The receptionist was busily writing something at his desk and didn't look up. Mira bounded up to him and asked,

"Hi! Is there a challenger today?"

"Yes, Mira. A girl named Dawn came by. She's staying at the pokemon center. Shall I contact her?"

"Yup. Tell her that she'll be battling the real gym leader!"

At that, he looked up and saw me. He almost fell out of his chair.

"You're back! Where have you been all this time?"

"Uhh... I don't know. My memory's kinda lost, so can you please keep the questions until I recover?"

"Sure... I'll pass it along to the other workers. My god... I'm so glad to see you again! It's been tough without you. Byron's been looking after the mine while you were gone, but we had to reduce the usual work since he had another mine to take care of. We've been experiencing energy shortage a couple of times."

"Oh boy..." I muttered. I had forgotten about Roark's other job as a supervisor at the mine. Well, forget about that for now.

"Anyway, the battle's important. Contact the challenger, but give me some time to get used to Cranidos. It's my first battle..."

Both of them looked confused, and I hurridly added,

"It's my first battle upon returning. I might have lost some skill, you know...?"

The receptionist nodded. He picked up the phone and started dialing. I looked at Mira, who was sitting on the desk and kicking her feet.

"Mira, can you take me to the battle field?"

"Okay! Follow me." She said, jumping off and skipping away.

* * *

The battle field was exactly how I imagined it to be. A large field with a few boulders. I tried out a few attacks with Cranidos to see what moves he had.

"So... it's Stealth Rock, Headbutt, Pursuit, Take Down..." Not bad. I had done plenty of battles in games, but seeing an actual pokemon move and launch attacks was quite new to me. Still, this battle shouldn't be too difficult since this is the first gym rookie trainers take on. I'd easily win it...maybe?

"Hi! You all made it!" Mira yelled happily as a few people walked over to the stands. Cynthia, Lucian, Riley, Cheryl, Buck, Flint, Volkner, and Byron... She must have called them over. I felt as if sweat was already dripping down my back. I was going to battle in front of_ them_?

"If you're wondering why we're here," Lucian called out, "it's important for us to check if you can continue your gym leading job. We'll watch and discuss. You just battle the way you want."

How? My eyes met with Cynthia's and her voice echoed inside my head.

_'You can't just crush every challenger to win against them. It takes a lot of training to make a gym leader who knows how to battle people considering their level and style.'_

I guess that's the point. I have to keep that in mind and do my best. I need this job. Cranidos has to evolve first before I decide to head off to Mt. Coronet. There's no place better than the gym to train, and I'll have unlimited access to every necessary facility. Plus, I'll be able to earn money for supplies.

"The challenger has arrived! I'll referee for you!" Mira hopped over to the side and stood at the middle. Dawn came in, smiling nervously. I nodded at her and she seemed to relax. The same Dawn from the games and anime... she'd have a Piplup, right?

"Wait! You forgot something!" The receptionist guy came running across the field and tossed me something red and round. I caught it - Roark's signature red mining helmet. I put it on, hearing cheers from Buck and Flint.

"Now please get out of the way." Seeing that he settled himself on the stands, Mira said loudly.

"We'll begin the battle! It's one-on-one with no substitutions."

"Good luck." I whispered as Cranidos stood in front of me.

"Into the spotlight!" Dawn yelled as she gracefully tossed a ball. As I thought, a Piplup appeared.

"Ready? The challenger has the first move!" Mira blew a whistle (where did she get that?)

"Piplup use Bubble!" The little penguin shot bubbles out of its mouth. They didn't look like those bubbles you blow with soap water, but more like transparent marbles. They would do a lot of damage to Cranidos unless...

"Ummm... Stealth Rock!" Some boulders cracked to pieces and shot itselves to Piplup, popping the bubbles on the way. Piplup was startled at the hurling rocks, but it was even more confused when they didn't attack. Dawn called out in a reassuring voice.

"Piplup, they won't hurt you! Use Bide!" Piplup started to glow white and store energy. Now what move should I use?

"Pursuit?" I said uncertainly. Cranidos approached Piplup and hit it once. Piplup was still storing energy but began to glow brighter.

"Use Headbutt and get back here as fast as you can!" Knocking Piplup backwards, Cranidos started to run, though his short legs did not provide much speed. Piplup unleashed a large amount of energy and Cranidos was thrown towards me, skidding on the ground face-first. Fortunately, it looked like he didn't receive much damage.

"You okay?" Cranidos got up and faced Piplup again. "Good. Use Take Down!" He made a full-body slam and Piplup was knocked backwards again. However, Dawn yelled, "Bubble!" and Piplup managed to get Cranidos attacked by those spheres. Getting directly attacked by a Water-type move wasn't good...

_'Battle people considering their level and style.'_

"Use Headbutt and pull back!" Since Dawn was only a rookie trainer, Piplup didn't have moves that were ranged, save for Bubble. Since I would just pop them with Stealth Rock, she made Cranidos come close to Piplup by using Bide and making our turns change so that I _had_ to attack after it was unleashed.

"Bubble!" Another direct attack. Cranidos wasn't fast enough to get out of range quickly enough. His HP was runnig low and I didn't have any Potions. Piplup was looking strong and I was sure Dawn would've come stocked with Potions.

I was going to lose this battle. She had the type advantage, and I certainly didn't have any better moves that would be super effective against Piplup. The very least I could do was attack until the battle was over. I chose the strongest damage-dealing move. Hoping that Cranidos wouldn't fall from being recoiled, I gave an order.

"Take Down!" For the last time, I guess. Cranidos launched itself and slammed Piplup with his body again. I thought Dawn was going to order another Bubble attack, but Piplup sprawled onto the ground and didn't get up while Cranidos stood.

"That was a critical hit! Piplup is unable to battle! The gym leader wins!" Mira said. Cranidos promptly fainted after the announcement.

"Uh... I still won, right?" I asked. Mira laughed and nodded. I put Cranidos back into his ball. It was a short battle, but I was already drained as if I ran a marathon. Dawn approached me with her hand outstretched, and I shook it.

"You were great. I could've lost." She shook her head.

"I heard that you had lost part of your memory. If you battled in your best condition, I would've lost within seconds. Thanks for giving your all."

"You, too. Come back again."

After Dawn left for the pokemon center, the people from the stands came down.

No one was smiling, though. Did I do something wrong?

* * *

Author's note: Yes, I fixed Dawn's catchphrase "Spotlight". Couldn't think of anything else lol. Hope the battle scene wasn't too lame. If it was, I'd be delighted to receive critiques and suggestions. Reviews are welcome, but not flames.


	4. Chapter 4: Trained to Tea

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

* * *

I waited for them to speak, but oddly, no one talked. They didn't even whisper among themselves. Didn't they have something to tell me? About my battle with Dawn?

"So…how was my battle?" I asked cautiously. They didn't reply at once. Lucian pushed up his glasses before speaking.

"It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. I can't really tell if you've got skill."

"What do you mean by that?" I was starting to get worried, when Cynthia took a deep breath before talking.

"Roark, what was on your mind when you were battling that girl?"

"Well, a lot of things. I had to think about her style and make up a strategy..."

"Were you nervous?" Cheryl asked.

"Of course I was nervous! It's my first battle - upon returning to the gym , that is - and you guys were watching me!"

"That's not a good excuse. If you truly got skill, then you can battle your best wherever you are, no matter who watches you." Volkner said rather coldly. His words made me upset.

"How can I _not_ get nervous when I know full well that you were there, taking off marks for this move, evaluating the whole battle, deciding whether or not I'm fit for being the gym leader... Don't you think it could've been hard for me?" I was trying hard not to yell, but my voice kept getting louder. I mean, this _was_ my first battle. Just because I'm supposed to be the gym leader doesn't mean I know what to do and got the I'm-all-confident-so-bring-it-on attitude.

"Are you saying that _you weren't able to concentrate on the battle because of us_?" Volkner was starting to get impatient.

"I never said that. I did concentrate on the battle, thanks." I snapped.

"I don't think so. You gave the wrong orders. That Pursuit wasn't necessary at all, and it only put Cranidos in danger by approaching a Piplup using Bide. Have you forgotten the basics of battles?" He was obviously keeping his temper.

How should I know about real battles? I've only battled in games, and they didn't show how pokemon moved to attack each other. Just press the A button and your pokemon attacked. Swell. I've heard Pokemon Stadium featured 3D battle scenes, with pokemon actually moving around and battling like virtual reality...but I never played it before. I didn't know how to respond to his words, so I stayed silent. Flint coughed.

"Bide didn't do much damage to Cranidos – Normal-type attacks aren't that effective against Rock-types." He pointed out. "Besides, Cranidos _had_ to make physical contact if he wanted to reduce Piplup's HP. You know what his moves were." Whew...thanks for coming to the rescue, Flint. I calmed down a little.

"That's completely off-topic, Flint. You're not really helping. What's important is she's making her anxiety - _and us_ - as a reason for her poor performance on the battle field." Volkner said in an exasperated voice. What he said wasn't entirely true, but I guess it was a reasonable conclusion for him, considering the situation. If he, the strongest gym leader in Sinnoh thinks that way, then maybe I don't stand a chance...

"I didn't hear her saying that." Flint said.

"Her attitude explains it all. I don't think she's fit for a gym leader. _She's pathetic_." Wow, those words gave me a shock. I admit I didn't do well in front of them, but that was not really what I expected to hear. Tears welled up in my eyes as I swallowed my anger.

_"Don't you dare call my kid pathetic!" _Byron growled. Riley nodded and stepped forward.

"That's harsh. Roark came back after who-knows-what-happened, turned into a girl, and her memory's been damaged. Even if she was in her best condition, she wouldn't have been able to battle like she used to do."

"Then do you think she should be gym leader in her current condition? Challengers come to the gym to train and check their skills. If the gym leader can't do that, then there's no reason to be gym leader... or since you're all friendly you won't care about that?" Volkner's voice was full of sarcasm and I was sure Riley was annoyed.

"Who said - "

"_That's enough_!" Cynthia yelled. Everyone stared at her red and heated face.

"It's too early to conclude anything - we've only seen one battle. We're here to give advice and help, not to argue over excuses or conditions." Volkner and Riley fell silent, still glaring at each other.

I turned around pretending to wipe my glasses when I was actually wiping my tears. I didn't want anyone to see me, but Cheryl must have noticed. She handed me a green handkerchief with pink happiny printings. I thanked her quietly.

"So, any comments on the battle? _Don't say anything if you're going to tell us she's been horrible_." Cynthia emphasized the last sentence. Volkner had just opened his mouth to speak, only to shut up again.

Buck spoke up. "I calculated the damage Cranidos had done until Piplup fainted - she would've won easily if she just spammed Take Down."

"However, gym battles aren't just about winning." Cheryl said, smiling. "Although it's important to defend the badge, she brought out the challenger's potential. You all saw how it was a close battle - the challenger would've had a tough but valuable time thinking of strategies."

"I'd say it was a draw. She wasn't any better than the challenger." Lucian said. "Cranidos fainted right after the declaration of the winner – he only stood a few seconds more than Piplup, which makes them equal."

"She used Stealth Rock in a pretty creative way" Cheryl added. "It didn't do any damage, yet it prevented Cranidos from getting hurt. How you respond to the first move can affect the rest of the battle. It surprised Piplup."

The discussion was getting longer, Cheryl and Lucian doing most of the talk. Flint was trying to lessen the tense between Byron, Riley and Volkner, only to fail and give up in the end. Mira, Buck, and the receptionist guy were sitting in the stands. I listened, but didn't really drink in every word. After some time, Cynthia ended the conversation.

"I guess this is it for today. We'll come back some other time and see if your battle is better. Train yourself and Cranidos. I understand you must have been nervous, but I have to say Volkner is right. You can't blame on that." Cynthia said to me. The rest were moving noisily out the gym doors. "Call us when you're ready. Until then, Mira and Cheryl will continue their work.

"Thanks for letting me know." I said. She patted my shoulder and left, leaving me alone in the large battle field.

Train, huh? I should do that, but how? In the games, I usually just made my pokemon spam attacks on the wild ones and make them level up like mad. It didn't seem right to do that way in this world, though. I decided to ask someone experienced to help my training. I ran out the door and found out they were getting ready to go home.

"Wait!" I yelled to get their attention. "Can you help me with my training? I need help on what I should start with."

"We've got League duties." Lucian and Cynthia teleported with his alakazam.

"Sorry, but it's the extreme-training season at Stark Mountain." Buck said as he got on Riley's salamence. "I can ask Marley for you, though. Honestly, she needs to get out of that cave and stop being obsessed with Shaymin or whatever..."

"Don't talk about your friend like that." Riley chuckled. "I've got trainers around Iron Island, too. Sorry." He did sound apologetic as his salamence started to flap its wings and fly away with the two passengers.

"I would really like to help, but I have to take care of two mines and I got my own gym. I guess you're on your own." I felt pretty sad as I watched Byron leave on his Skarmory. I mean, he's supposed to be my father here. The remaining people were Flint, Volkner, Cheryl, and Mira.

Flint glanced at me and the other girls before speaking.

"Well, it looks like you're the only one to help, Volkner." I swore I saw a small grin starting to spread across his face. Volkner didn't smile.

"Did you say something?" He said in a dangerous tone. Did Flint catch that?

"Oh, come one. You said you were bored because there weren't any challengers worth your time. You even blacked out the city with unnecessary renovations. Why don't you leave Sunyshore for awhile, get some fresh air and help her with her training?" So he really did black out the city...

"Why don't _you_ do it, if you want to help her so much?" Volkner shot back.

"League duties!" Flint said matter-of-factly. "Plus, those lovely ladies have to take on the challengers instead of Roark, so all that's left is you."

"Why should I? I'm not going to - HEY! _Get back here!_" Flint had summoned his rapidash and he was gone in a flash.

Awkward silence for a few minutes. Oh, not total silence since the wind was blowing.

"Why don't you get on your luxray and leave, too?" I went back and closed the gym doors since they were swinging about.

"I didn't bring him with me today." He muttered under his breath. Then switching to a loud carrying voice, "Though don't you expect me to train you since Flint left me like this."

"I don't need you to train me!" I replied angrily. Volkner ignored me walked over to Mira.

"Teleport me to Sunyshore, please."

"No." She said, sticking out her tongue. "I'm not going to help you."

"_Fine!_ Who needs help from pokemon to get home, anyway." He started to walk towards the pokemon center when Mira suddenly took out her kadabra and used psychic powers to stop Volkner from going.

"_What are you doing?_" I could see he was almost close to exploding. "_Let me go!_"

"No way. Calm down and be a good boy or else she's going to order an attack." Cheryl said with a giggle. "Now, shall we go and have some tea? Mira, why don't you teleport us?"

* * *

I don't know what Cheryl was thinking. It was just plain torture sitting at a cafe in Floaroma Town, in a private outdoor booth at that. We sat at a round table covered with _silk_ cloth. Cheryl had ordered three cups of expensive tea with a sweet scent, while Mira got juice. Our pokemon were released in the cafe garden so they could enjoy the weather.

"Who's going to pay for this anyway?" I asked as I spooned sugar in my tea. Cheryl took a sniff and her expression turned dreamy.

"Volkner, of course. Ahh, I love this scent of honey..." Volkner choked on his tea.

"Why me? I was dragged into this! You - " Cheryl put down her cup with a loud _thud_. Her face was very bright and cheerful, though.

"That's a no-no. Get rid of that bad attitude and accept the fact you're the only guy here. Cool down, and maybe I might consider paying for these myself."

I admired her ability to make Volkner shut up. Maybe I should learn a few tricks from her.

"So, I was thinking of a training schedule - "

"I _said_ I'm not going to - " He started with frustration.

"It seems like _someone_ wants to pay." Cheryl said in a non-threatening tone, making Volkner just pour tea in his cup furiously. "Where was I? Ah, I was thinking of a training schedule and perhaps you might be willing to try it out."

She took out a piece of paper from her pocket and started drawing tables.

"Battling other people is one way to train, but you also have to build up your own strength. Cranidos doesn't have much speed, so you can have him run laps and try to get his record shorter everytime. Also, why don't we go shopping and get various TMs for you to use? Pursuit and Stealth Rock were meant to damage the opponent when switching. It's not well suited for one-on-one battles, or double battles. You should change your moves considering every kind of battle."

"Hmm...I guess I should."

"So what does that have to do with _me_?" Volkner asked. I could tell he wanted to get out of here.

"Don't you think you should be a little more nice?" Cheryl smiled. "Anyway, you're going to help her with her training. Judging by the way you criticized her so badly, I think you're confident enough to make a _pathetic_ trainer into a real master of battles...you're the strongest gym leader, so it should be a cinch. By the way, I don't have any cash on me." She took a sip, oblivious of Volkner palm-facing.

* * *

"So, we're stuck with training, huh?" Volkner said bitterly. It was late in the evening and Mira had already teleported us back to Oreburgh Gym. Since he ended up paying for the bill, Mira decided he deserved teleporting. She was feeding her kadabra some berries before they teleported again. Cheryl said she had work in Floaroma Town so we said goodbye to her a while ago.

"Don't worry, I'm not looking forward to it." I said without looking at him.

"I'll be at the Oreburgh Gate tomorrow at 9 A.M. If you don't show up, then I'll consider you want to blow this thing."

"If _you're_ not there, then I'm going to tell Cheryl _you _blew it."

"Oh, that's scary. What could Cheryl do to me?" He mocked.

"You're going to find yourself losing a lot more cash." Mira piped up. I grinned and we high-fived.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's go, Mira."

"See you, Roark!" I waved at Mira as they disappeared. Now, I should go home and rest.

It was then I realized I didn't know where my supposed house was.

* * *

Any kind of reviews (compliments, suggestions, criticism, questions) is welcome. Flames will be deleted.


	5. Chapter 5: PlayPause

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

* * *

I brought out Cranidos and asked him to find my house. Perhaps he might know, since he is Roark's closest pokemon he might have been inside the house.

"Do you know where home is? My house?" I tried.

He just stood and stared at me with innocent curiosity. To him, Oreburgh City _itself_ was his home, so on second thoughts, he wasn't going to be much help. I called him back in the ball.

I went to the pokemon center and asked Nurse Joy if she knew my home. After some explaining that I had lost my memory, she told me where it was on a map. It was near the gym, so I would have to walk all the way back. Since I wasn't in a hurry, I decided to stay a little while Cranidos was being healed.

"Hey, Roark! I didn't expect to see you here!"

Dawn and Piplup had been sitting in front of the large TV in the lobby, watching some flashy show while sipping some lemonade. Except for them and Nurse Joy, the center was almost empty. I went over and sat beside her.

"Hi, Dawn. Are you going to stay in Oreburgh?"

"Yup, until I get my badge! We're going to train and beat you with the first attack! Right, Piplup?" Piplup puffed up proudly.

"You're going to have to challenge someone other than me, though. The League said I need some time to adjust as a proper gym leader, so other trainers will be taking on challengers instead of me."

"Really?" Dawn frowned. "Well, I can wait. You're supposed to be the original gym leader, so let me be the first to challenge you when you're ready."

"Are you sure? It could take days or weeks..."

"I'm okay with that. I can train all I want. Besides, I'm also thinking of entering a pokemon contest, too. Maybe I can get my first ribbon before I get my first badge." She said jokingly.

"A pokemon contest?" I asked. Dawn pointed to the TV. The flashy show had actually been a contest show recorded on DVD, and there in the middle of the stage was the famous Fantina with her Drifloon, waving to the screaming audiences who were obviously her fans. They were waving purple scarves and flags marked with a yellow X.

"I really admire her. She's a gym leader, and can also perform on stage so beautifully. I wonder how she trains her pokemon. Battle moves and contest moves are different, you know."

Yeah, I know that. I had entered contests in the games, but I never really got through the Normal Ranks... Though in the 3rd generation games, I did once win up to the Master Rank and even had a picture of my pokemon hung in the Lilycove Museum. Truth be told, that was when I spammed gold pokeblocks I got from the Blend Master in the Emerald version. I guess that was luck. I wonder how contests are like here. Are they like the games, or are they like the anime? Maybe neither?

"Say, why don't you enter a contest if you've got time? We could try for the ribbon, together." She said suddenly.

"What, me? No... I only like watching them."

"That's too bad." She smiled sadly. "I was looking forward to another gym leader being in the contest. You see, gym leaders have more unique styles than other trainers. Fantina, for example, and - "

" - and Wallace and Juan from Hoenn."

"Exactly. Anyway, let me know if you change your mind. I'll be glad to enter with you. Well, I guess I should go to my room. See you later."

"Good night." I watched the TV go blank and the DVD pop out of the player. Dawn packed it and left with Piplup. Contests... maybe I should think about it.

"Cranidos is fully healed and good to go." Nurse Joy called out.

* * *

I found my supposed home - a plain one-story house with a garden filled with pebbles. It was pretty and I liked it right away. The only problem was I didn't have a key to get in the front door. Even the back door didn't budge. The windows were all locked, too. I thought about smashing a window to get in, but then I'd have to pay for fixing it.

Maybe there might be a spare key in the gym. Maybe the receptionist guy knows. I went back to the gym, only to find him snoring loudly on the desk. He must have had a hard day so I searched around the desk without waking him up, but no luck. I guess I'll have to stay in the gym for the night. There should be a lounge in here somewhere...

I found it, not far from the battle field. It was a small room with a couch and several lockers with names and photos. Most of them being miners and their kid youngsters who want to learn about Rock-types from the real-Roark. Praying that I wouldn't have to teach them, I closed the door.

There was also a clock here, so I should be able check the time. I took off my helmet and boots, and using the mining jacket as a blanket, I fell asleep on the couch.

* * *

_"..ake up...I said...WAKE UP!"_

I was feeling very tired that I could barely open my eyes. Something yellow streaked across the air and suddenly, I felt a tremendous pain in my stomach as something slammed into me. It did wake me up.

"Oww...what was that for?" My eyes watered as I clutched my stomach and fell to the floor. A familiar, angry voice rang in my ears.

"_What was that for?_ You've got training and you're lying around like _this!_ I wouldn't have bothered coming to look for you if it weren't for Cheryl, but you're really hopeless!" Through my teary eyes, I saw a yellow creature with red cheeks. So a pikachu woke me up by using Tackle? That's so mean!

"I'm sorry, but you could've waken me in a natural way. This hurts, really..."

"You didn't wake up in the natural way. Enough talk. It's 8:45 A.M. already, and we're behind schedule. Hurry up and get dressed!"

"Hey, it's not even 9:00 A.M.!" I yelled as I put on my boots and swung my jacket over my shoulders. Picking up my helmet, I grabbed Cranidos' pokeball and dashed after Volkner and his pikachu. Why is he so cross with me?

"If you were thinking of training, you should be at least 30 minutes early and already warmed up!" He shot back. I couldn't think of any retort, so I just followed him quietly, thinking on how to get back to Flint and Cheryl for making him my training partner.

"One more thing. You're going to stick to my training schedule. No complaints are accepted." Now he was really getting on my nerves. Still, I didn't want to get in a fight with him so I didn't curse at him.

"Yeah, _coach Volkner_." I said dully. "What are we going to do first?"

"Run laps, of course. We're going to speed things up a little since you were too lazy to prepare yourself. Get Cranidos out and position yourself at the white line."

We arrived at Oreburgh Gate, and I was surprised to see white powder marks on the grassy ground near Jubilife City, forming a large track. So Volkner came and did all this for my training? All negative thoughts about him disappeared momentarily as I brought out Cranidos. He stretched his short arms cutely before standing beside me. It was hard not to pick him up and squeal and cuddle him.

"Training together shows the best results. Don't care about his speed - it's natural he'd be slower than you. It's the fact you're running with him that will make him push himself more. Pikachu will be your pace maker. Take off your boots - they'll be extremely uncomfortable to run in and there's nothing in the ground to hurt your feet. Put down your helmet, too. Ready? Fifty-laps, go!" Volkner took out a small speedwatch and clicked it. I placed my helmet down, kicked off the boots and ran barefoot. Pikachu walked beside Cranidos, who was obviously trying his best to run.

Honestly, _fifty-laps_? In normal conditions, I wouldn't have complained. However, this was a little too much for me. I didn't have anything since yesterday's lunch at the hospital, save for the expensive tea Cheryl bought with Volkner's money. I was practically starving, and didn't have much energy to go on. Though, if I told him about it, he would just tell me to shut up, right? Thank goodness I had jogged for a few months before getting warped into this place. Although I never really took up sports, I was on the athletic side so I might be able to keep it up for a while...

Pikachu sped up a bit and skipped beside me. I knew pikachus were fast creatures, but looking at one next to me made me realize how fast this guy would be if he ran to his limit. Seeing that I was doing good, he went back to Cranidos.

Though in the end, Cranidos finished fifty laps before me. Maybe having been stuck underground without air for millions of years helped him a lot, since even though he was breathing heavily, he didn't look completely out of breath. Me? I was a little dizzy, and my feet were sore and sticky... _sticky_?

"Oh, come on! How could you end up being slower than Cranidos?" Ignoring his sarcasm, I sat on the ground and took a look at my feet, covered in half-dried blood and dirt. Pikachu squeaked in surprise.

"What the - how did you hurt your feet? There shouldn't be anything on the ground... I checked this morning." Volkner asked with a frown. It took me only a few seconds to realize that I had already had scratches and cuts on my feet from dashing in Eterna Forest the day before yesterday. They probably opened from all the sudden pressure by running fifty-laps. Though...I don't need to tell him, do I?

"Do you mind if we take a break now? It's not just my feet - I'm really hungry, too." I tried to stand up, but my legs were wobbly from all the running.

"You're not going around like that. We're going to have to put off training for a moment. The pokemon center isn't far from here - he'll carry you." He brought out his luxray and helped me position myself on him. I've never ridden an animal in real life, not even horses or ponies at the zoo. Luxray had really nice fur - it looked as if it were polished, and I could imagine Volkner taking extremely good care of his pokemon. Not surprising, since this luxray is one of his prized pokemon.

Well, back to where I was. I knew it was useless to argue with him. I got the boots and helmet from Cranidos.

"Don't complain later, though." I said, zapping Cranidos back in the ball.

"Sorry, but this is something big to complain about. Unnecessary injuries are the worst enemies of training. I'm going to have to think of another way to train without having you move around a lot."

Wow, that's considerate. I felt embarrassed when people glanced at us but he didn't seem to mind. We got to the pokemon center, and Nurse Joy treated my feet with special ointment and wrapped it in bandages. It wasn't much of a big deal, so it was quickly done in the lobby.

"It will heal in a few days, only if you don't walk around so much."

"Thanks." That was when my stomach grumbled loudly. Nurse Joy giggled.

"Don't worry. Volkner has gone to get something for you. He'll be back soon." She left me with luxray, who was lying on the lobby floor. I reached out and stroked him. He looked up, but didn't pull away. I took that as a good sign and patted him on the head.

"Thanks for carrying me all the way here, buddy." I said. "If you're that nice, maybe Volkner isn't so bad." Luxray grunted, perhaps in agreement.

* * *

Volkner appeared through the sliding doors and tossed me a brown paper bag, which I caught easily. I opened it to see a lot of donuts - all of them pink and heart-shaped. I pulled one out and looked at him questioningly.

"For your information, I didn't pick those. The cashier girl packed them when I ordered the random set." He shrugged as he sat next to me. I had a sudden image of a teenage girl blushing and trying her best to flirt with Volkner as he placed his order. These heart-shaped donuts just proved how much she wanted Volkner to notice her. To stop myself from laughing, I took a bite and chewed quickly.

"Hurry up and finish those. I already planned out things to do in the afternoon. Since you obviously can't walk, we're just going to have to train by battling. I brought a few pokemon to help with Cranidos' speed and maybe pichus or low-leveled pikachus would get him going. After that - "

"Oh, there he is!" Quite suddenly, a few reporters rushed in the sliding door and swarmed around us. Volkner's brow narrowed as he scanned the area. Luxray grumbled as he stood protectively in front of us.

"I knew that person on the luxray was you! So, is the camera rolling?" One of them was talking so fast I could hardly understand what she was saying. The cameraman gave her thumbs-up. Soon all the people in the lobby gathered around us, save for Nurse Joy and a couple of blisseys.

"Ah-hem. We are now on live with our gym leader who returned! This is the moment to hear what really happened to him during those weeks he was gone!"

Not again. They were obviously the same reporters from yesterday... and they were being a real pain in the neck. I glanced at Volkner, who was now clearing his throat.

"If you don't mind I would like to say something for you." I looked at him in horror as the reporter delightedly presented her microphone. Everyone's eyes were upon him as they waited for what he'd say. Maybe something about me?

Staring directly at the camera lens, Volkner said the one word I would never forget.

_"Discharge!"_

By the way, was that a grin?

* * *

Reviews(questions, suggestions, critiques, compliments) are welcome, but not flames.


	6. Chapter 6: Settle

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

* * *

The moment I blinked, luxray shone brightly and yellow sparks flew around. The next thing I knew, everyone was on the floor unconscious except for Volkner and me. The whole place went quiet with only the _dzzzt_ sound of the lobby television that went blank with gray stripes. Luxray stretched as if this was nothing more than scratching his back.

"Did you just order an _attack_ on them?" He didn't even look guilty. I swear I saw something similar to satisfaction appear in his eyes.

"Yeah. Why?"

"What if something went wrong and somebody _died_ of electric shock?" I felt scared and dropped the bag of donuts in fear - my fingers were trembling. All sorts of images flew through my head. Getting busted, being thrown into jail... He picked the bag up and replied casually.

"No one's going to die. I know perfectly well what I'm doing."

"Still, that wasn't a really nice thing to do - " I was about to protest when the reporter who had been talking to us just seconds ago stirred. I winced.

"You can stay and get interviewed if you want. I'm out of here." Volkner started to walk towards the sliding door.

"Wait for me!" I shoved my boots on my bandaged feet and stood up to follow him. My legs had regained strength so it wasn't much of a chore to walk. However, try walking in bandaged feet - it's extremely uncomfortable.

"Luxray could give you another ride." Volkner offered. I shook my head.

"I can walk. Oreburgh Gate isn't far from here. I don't want people staring at me." He shrugged.

"Fine, if that's what you want." Luxray was zapped in his ball. It took a few minutes, but I managed to limp out of the pokemon center.

"We're going to get back on training as soon as we can. Since you're more than warmed up from all that running, it's time for a battle."

"A battle..." I said, imagining how it would be like.

* * *

"So it's Cranidos against your pikachu? That's not exactly fair..." My complaints didn't reach across the temporary battle field he had drawn on the grass. We had just started the battle, and Volkner ordered his pikachu to cast a Thunder Wave on Cranidos. How was I going to battle with a paralyzed pokemon? It's not as if I've got the upper-hand...

"Take Down!" I yelled, but he couldn't move because those bolts of electricity were binding his joints. He looked awfully in pain, even though it didn't do any direct damage to him. I wish I had some paralyze heals.

Pikachu was moving swiftly around using Quick Attack. Lucky guy, he never missed. He even avoided Cranidos when he was finally able to attack. Volkner was using the method I had tried to use in the battle with Dawn - attacking and pulling back instantly. It didn't work with Cranidos because of his low speed, but I guess it's different for Pikachu now. I have to use what Cranidos can...and a battle scene appeared inside my head.

Maybe _this_ might work...?

"Go, Stealth Rock!" Some rocks near Oreburgh Gate flew straight into Pikachu's face. Surprised, he skidded on the ground, trying to stop from running into them.

"You're fine, they won't hurt you!" Volkner called out. Too late...hopefully.

"Alright! Cranidos, use Take Down!" Fortunately, paralysis didn't stop him and he slammed into Pikachu - we damaged him for the very first time!

"We did it!" Without time to be happy or proud, Cranidos fainted from the recoil. I took out his ball and zapped him in.

"You're using Stealth Rock as a major way to startle your opponent. You shouldn't use that too often - it's getting old." Volkner told me after putting his pikachu back in the ball.

"Yeah, but challengers to my gym are usually rookie trainers, so they wouldn't know what exactly Stealth Rock is."

"Don't rely on that so much. Someone who lost to you might go and spread it around." I hadn't thought about that.

"Though, it's pretty good. I didn't know you'd actually be able to attack Pikachu. I think you might be able to show some progress in a few days." Was that supposed to be a compliment or scorn?

"Thanks." I said without emotion.

"I planned out a whole lot of training for today, but maybe we should take this slow. After all, the League told you to train until you're ready to battle in front of them again. Get Cranidos fully rested and make sure you're here tomorrow morning ready for the next training."

"Right, I'll be here on time." Volkner brought out his luxray, and I assumed he was going to take a ride back to Sunyshore.

It was still bright in the afternoon. The battle didn't even take a few hours. What was I supposed to do if training was already over? Go home? I don't even have the key to my house...

I was about to ask Volkner how to get spare keys only to notice he was now pretty far away. He left without even saying good-bye.

I kicked the ground in irritation, only earning a horrible pain through my boots. Eyes watering, I started to walk back to Oreburgh when something brushed against my left boot. Looking down, I found the bag of donuts I had earlier. I picked it up and chewed on the donuts furiously.

Volkner was just so confusing.

* * *

I could stay at the gym for another night, but until then, I was going to have to find something to do.

I decided to visit the mining site for the rest of the day. If I was going to be the gym leader here, then I would have to know how to take care of the mining project. After asking the receptionist guy at the gym for the location of the site, I went over to the place filled with boulders and fresh soil.

"It's good to see you again!" Several miners came up to me smiling brightly. There was something about this mining site that made me feel better. There was so much energy in the air that I could actually feel - maybe aura is something similar to this? My pulse quickened as I walked around the site, being polite to all the miners who greeted me.

"Roark! So you're back to take your job?" A hand pressed my shoulder firmly. I looked and saw Byron with a few other miners. I was quite glad to see him.

"Hi! Not now. I'll have to be a gym leader again first, right?"

"True, true... I'm going to make some arrangements for you since you're a girl now. There will be changes - you'll be excluded from most of the work that requires physical strength. It won't be hard to fit back in, though."

"Thanks for all the work you're doing for me, Byron." I said cheerfully. It was good to know someone was actually doing something for me because he cared. However, Byron suddenly looked sullen while the miners around us started to leave with whispers. I felt his hand on my shoulder lift.

"So, could you fill me in on what I need to do? I'm not sure if I'll do okay without a preview." I asked. Byron didn't answer and headed toward the mine entrance where a heap of rocks were being sorted. I was starting to get indignant. What was with these guys suddenly giving me the cold shoulder? First Volkner, now Byron...

"Byron, did I say something wrong?" I followed him to the pile of rocks and grabbed his arm. When he looked back at me with disappointment in his eyes, I understood my big mistake. I had called him by his name when he was supposed to be my father... I remembered how he stood on my side when Volkner called me pathetic, and I felt sorry. I stepped back and let him work with the rocks while I thought of a way to make up. I'll have to be a good little girl and act charming... but will it work?

"Aww... is it because I called you by your name, Daddy?" _Bingo._ He dropped the rock he was holding. Approaching him with a winning smile, I tried again by saying in the sweetest voice I got. (at least I thought it was sweet)

"I thought I was old enough to do so... but if you don't like it, then I won't do it. So, please don't be mad with me, Daddy, please?" I batted my eyes for an extra bonus point. This should do it.

"Drop the act, you're starting to give me the creeps." He finally said. Yes! He was grinning.

"You're not angry, then?" I asked in my regular tone.

"How can I ever be angry with you? I was just...surprised, that's all. Come here and help me with these." Beaming, I plunged my hands through the rocks and started sorting them. However, Byron had to correct about 99% of what I was doing.

"Hmm, you lost a lot of memory if you can't even tell these apart. That won't be a big problem, since you'll be able to learn again when you work in the mine."

"I guess so..." I said. Just sorting these rocks had made me sweat a lot, and my clothes were sticking to my skin. I wanted to take a shower, but I remembered that I wouldn't be able to unless I found a way into my house.

"You're looking tired. Why don't you go home and get some rest?" Byron said. I looked at him wearily.

"Can I ask you how to get a spare key? I can't get in my house."

* * *

It turned out Byron had a spare key to my supposed home. Small wonder, since he would've exchanged keys with his son for emergency purposes. To express my thanks, I asked him to stay for dinner, and he agreed to do so after hesitation. The kitchen wasn't far from the front door, and I was impressed to see that it was spotless. The real-Roark must have been a really tidy person.

"Thanks for opening the door. I stayed at the gym last night because I couldn't get in."

"You should've called me."

"I forgot you'd have the spare key. Anyway, just wait a few minutes. I'll fix something for you real quick."

I opened the refrigerator and found some ingredients. Bottles of Moomoo milk, Berry Juice, Fresh Water first came into my sight. There were those real-life vegetables like cabbage and carrots, but there were also some stuff I had never seen before. Like, the bright yellow bananas that were still very fresh. Normally, bananas would turn black if left in cold places... There were also some green leaves that looked like the top of an oddish. Trying not to think of leaves being pulled out of the poor creature, I looked for other things to eat. I found mushrooms, obviously from paras.

There were eggs in various sizes. They were pokemon eggs, but not those colored ones I saw in the anime. These were plain white.

"Byr - I mean, Dad, can you tell me what these eggs are? I can't remember." I asked while taking out a few small ones along with some vegetables and a bottle of Moomoo milk. Byron, who had been wiping the kitchen table spoke without looking at me.

"They're eggs that failed to hatch."

"How do you know if they won't hatch?" I shuddered at the thought of an egg hatching right just when I was going to crack it.

"They lose their color. Say, if it were a Cranidos egg, then it would be blue and gray, but it turns white if it won't hatch."

"So you mean it turns white when it dies before hatching?" This was interesting. So pokemon can actually die, even before hatching.

"Technically, yes. Though it's weird to use the term 'death'."

I found a frying pan and a bottle of extra virgin oddish oil - I looked twice at the name before using it. Weren't oddish supposed to be part Poison-type? How did they find a way to use them for meals? Not only the leaves, but oils... Well, it was half-used by the previous owner, so I guess it's safe... I kept glancing at it as I chopped up the vegetables.

I got a bowl and cracked the eggs. They looked like real-life ones with the transparent gooey part and the yolk. I mixed them with a little Moomoo milk and the chopped-up vegetables and poured them in the frying pan along with the oddish oil (I still had doubts using that).

After a few minutes I made pokemon omelettes. It tasted just like the real-life ones I used to make for myself. Byron looked serious as if this was an important dish - he gave me the impression of a cooking competition judge. Before he picked up his fork, he told me,

"If anything happens to me, I'm leaving you everything I've got." Then he sliced the omelette and took a bite.

_What was that supposed to mean?_

"Hey," his expression changed. "Did you take cooking lessons? Now finally you made something edible! I was really worried after that incident..."

"What incident?"

"Oh, you don't remember? We had a gym leader party some time ago, and you made a dish - which ended up getting everyone in the hospital. You had to pay a lot for that." Could it be...? I got the oddish oil and checked it again - it was clearly labled as cooking oil. So that means the real-Roark was actually terrible with food... He may be able to eat what he made himself, but for the others... The saying does go 'one man's meat is the other man's poison'...literally.

"Hope you don't end up in the hospital after this." I said in a worried voice. "I'm not 100% sure if it's okay. That oddish oil - I wonder if it's fine?"

"We've had them for years, but a lot of people still don't like the idea of that. They're made in Floaroma Town, so why don't you go see for yourself?"

"I should do that. Anyway, I'm glad you like my dish."

"It's certainly better than before!" He said happily.

* * *

After dinner, Byron left for Canalave, and I had a self-tour around the house. I found a healing machine in the living room. Thank god, I don't have to go to the pokemon center. I placed Cranidos' ball in it and turned it on. It had a timer, so I won't have to come back to turn it off while I take a shower.

Everything else was pretty much related to real-life. There were your original soap and shampoo. Since the real-Roark was a guy, he wouldn't have gotten anything girly. Though, I found some samples of hair conditioners that must have been given out for free. He didn't throw them away, for some reason. I used the one labeled 'Bellossom scent', and whoa, I totally liked it. It smelled like ordinary flowers, yet it had some power to make the user feel cheery.

I borrowed some of Roark's clothes in his bedroom closet, and they fit me. Not surprising since the mining clothes matched my size, too. I plopped on the bed after hanging the mining clothes to dry by the window. I didn't use the washing machine since I didn't have much clothing to clean.

He had a nice bedroom. The majority of the walls were covered with pictures of rocks and fossils, as expected. His desk had three drawers, and I opened them one by one.

I found an album with pictures filled with young Roark and Byron. I flipped through a few pages before realizing there wasn't a single picture that had a woman in it. I shoved the album back in the drawer, not wanting to know any more.

The next had a lot of tools for studying small rocks. A magnifying glass, samples of rocks in a plastic bag, extra gloves, several notes on how to identify a rock... I should study these. They might be useful.

There was a small notebook in the third drawer. I closed it immediately after seeing the words 'Dear Diary'. Reading someone else's diary was a bad thing to do.

However, I didn't put it back in the drawer. Rather, I rubbed my fingers on the cover. I needed all the information I could get about Roark, and this diary could teach me a lot. Who knows, I might even get a hint on where he could be now. Praying he would forgive me - and promising I wouldn't tell anyone - I started reading.

* * *

Reviews are greatly appreciated. Flames are not.


	7. Chapter 7: Necessary

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

The diary had the records of Roark's last two years. I discovered Cranidos had been revived only a year ago. It was dated around the time he became the gym leader officially. After a detailed list of Cranidos' features and scientific information, there was a whole page expressing his joy and anticipation for future partnership. I also found that part where he cooked something and made everyone sick. He must have felt really bad about it - he filled over three pages or so on just apologizing to everyone in the hospital (he wrote that he even delivered every one of them a vase of flowers). I could see that he had the sincere heart of a child and was easily affected by emotional events.

I was surprised not to find anything much about fossils. He had gone far enough have conversations with rocks in the anime, yet he didn't write anything about it in his diary. I searched the second drawer and found that he wrote about the fossils _there_ with details that were so intriguing that I could not help but feel a little awed. Moving on, I looked for other stuff that might actually help me find him.

He said he liked Iron Island a lot because the place had a lot of natural resources. I'll have to pay Riley a visit sometime later... There was also a note about exploring Mt. Coronet and searching for rare rocks. I'm going to be there later after Cranidos evolves, so that would have to wait. Speaking of rare rocks, he also mentioned Steven Stone of Hoenn, and expressed how much he admired him and would be more than glad to just sit and talk about rocks all day. My heart fluttered at the thought - I had played the 3rd generation games at least 20 times just because of him. It might not be so bad, having a nice conversation with the heir to the Devon Corporation. Well, maybe I could actually meet him if I'm lucky. Right now, I've got to focus on other things.

I picked up a pencil and opened a fresh page. If I ever find the real-Roark and return to my world, this guy was going to be left in chaos since there would be a lot of changes because of me. I'd better leave a note.

_'Hey, Roark!_

_Don't be surprised - I'm someone from another world. I've been brought here for some unknown reason, and people think I'm you. It was impossible to explain my situation, so I was sort of forced to impersonate you. Sorry if it hurts your feelings, but it's necessary for the time being._

_I'll keep you updated through this diary. Oh, you don't have to worry - I won't tell anyone what you've been writing. I'll be staying at your house and train Cranidos for you. If I ever get anymore pokemon, I'll train them for you, too. I'm trying to get your job as a gym leader. I'll do my best!_

_Hopefully, I'll be able to find you and return to my real world before this notebook is done._

_By, your imposter.'_

I re-read what I just wrote. Yes, it looked alright. However, I wrote 'imposter' at the end after failing to recall my name. I still have memories of my life before I got warped in here, but why can't I remember who I was?

* * *

I must have fallen asleep on the bed with the diary in my hand. When I awoke, it was 7:30 A.M. I didn't feel like getting up, but Volkner was going to kill me if I showed up late.

After a quick breakfast, I changed into the mining clothes and took Cranidos with me. My feet were already partially healed, so I didn't need much bandages. I left the house at 8:20 A.M. I was sure I would be there first.

However, Volkner was already waiting at Oreburgh Gate, sprinkling some white powder on the ground. His pikachu was carrying a bag of it. My jaw dropped open.

"Finally, you're here." He muttered.

"_Finally?_ What time did _you_ get here?" I asked dubiously.

"Around 7:00." He answered without hesitation. I tried to calculate the time it would take to get to Oreburgh from his house.

"Then you'd have to leave Sunyshore at..."

"6:00 or so."

What an early bird. I sighed and brought out Cranidos. He yawned hugely before rubbing his eyes. It was awkward moving about in silence, so I decided to talk a little while popping my bones back in place.

"Um, Volkner? I'm wondering why you're so eager to train with me. Are you actually enjoying this?"

"I'm not _eager, _I'm not enjoying this, and this isn't exactly what I'd put on my to-do list. However, I just think it's better coming here than sitting in the gym waiting for trainers that are weaker than even _you_. The last thrilling battle I had was with Aaron before he challenged the League and joined the Elite Four. All the trainers after him were a total waste of time." He said, shaking his head. "Besides, this whole thing got troublesome - Cynthia knows I'm helping you and she said she was going to expect good results."

"Oh dear... So I guess we'll have to do our best. What are we going to do today?"

"A quick battle first - don't worry, no one's going to faint this time. I'll stop when I think Cranidos' HP is running low. After that, we're going to go see Cheryl in Floaroma Town - "

"Why?"

"Because she said she wanted to talk to you." He said, irritated.

"So we're going to _walk_ to Floaroma Town?"

"Technically, Luxray is going to do the walk." I nodded and did a few more stretches.

"After that?"

"We'll go over to The Valley Windworks and have another battle there - "

"Hey - that place has electricity everywhere! You're going to win, no matter what!" I said angrily.

"I didn't say I was going to battle with my pokemon. I'll catch one there and battle with it - fair enough?" Well, maybe. Though, if I lose, he's going to make fun of me for losing to a freshly caught pokemon that is clearly weaker than Cranidos. I guess he's probably confident enough to battle with a pokemon that has been under his ownership for less than five minutes.

"Deal." I said, not looking at him. "So, is that all?"

"That's it, but it might take longer than it sounds. Cheryl might talk forever."

"I wonder what she wants to talk about?"

"You'll find out later. Position yourself and prepare to battle."

* * *

It wasn't a battle at all. I spent the whole morning having Cranidos chase after Volkner's pikachu, who kept running away after a Thunderbolt attack. Stealth Rock didn't work this time and the rocks were useless. Poor Cranidos wasn't able to keep up with Pikachu, and soon got so frustrated that he stopped taking orders from me and just sat flat on the ground, pouting. I had to pat and stroke his head a lot of times just to make him calm down.

"You're so mean. This isn't a proper battle."

"It's part of training Cranidos' speed. You're never going to put up a good fight if he's not fast - "

"Yes, yes I know what you're talking about but we've got to be realistic here. _There's no way Cranidos can have the same speed as Pikachu._ You can't just make him run around and try attack someone who is a million times faster than him." I said defensively.

"Would you rather not train, then?" Volkner asked. I caught his dangerous tone and realized at once I shouldn't have complained.

"No, but - " Cranidos seemed to notice that this was getting pretty uncomfortable. He clutched my boots.

"_Then quit the whining and get him back on his feet! _I told you yesterday that you're going to have to stick to my training plans, and what, you're tired already?" I winced at his sudden outburst.

"_No,_ but - " I heard my own voice get smaller. Boy, he was scary.

"If you don't want to train with me - fine. I don't have anything to lose. However, you know what your problems are, and you should take responsibility to overcome it. I suggest you make your decision now and let me know." I thought about it quickly - but it wasn't as if there was another option. After all, he was willing to train someone who he disliked. That itself was something to respect. I took a deep breath.

"Okay - we'll do it your way." I crouched down and talked to Cranidos in a firm voice. "Let's show him what you've got." Cranidos stared straight into my eyes before standing and giving a loud roar to show he was fired up.

"Alright! Let's go with Take Down!" Of course, the attack missed but this time it was so close. I need another idea this time... Pikachu used another Thunderbolt on Cranidos.

"Use Stealth Rock until I say stop!" Rocks kept flying around and soon a lot gathered to form a small wall. I didn't expect that to happen, but then I realized it might be quite useful.

"Now! Use Take Down on the rocks!" Cranidos slammed into the wall of rocks very hard, and sent the fragments flying. However much Pikachu was fast, he couldn't avoid all of them and a few gashes appeared on his skin. It was a small damage, but I felt great using a new strategy. Volkner's expression changed and I noticed he looked rather impressed.

"So you thought of a new way to use Stealth Rock... I guess this won't get old." He said after calling his pikachu back in the ball. "Though this battle was for Cranidos to get faster..."

"Still, the whole point was to get Cranidos to attack Pikachu, right?" I said, beaming. Cranidos seemed pretty proud of himself. I crouched down so we could high-five, though Cranidos had to stand on his tip-toes to reach my palm. Volkner checked his wristwatch and brought out Luxray.

"Is it time to see Cheryl already? That battle took a lot of time..." After I zapped in Cranidos, I waited as Volkner got on his luxray. Didn't he have another luxray for me? Or would I have to find some other way to get to Floaroma Town?

"What are you waiting for? Get on." He broke the silence. It took me a few moments to realize he only had one luxray, and we were going to have to ride _together_. I hesitated for a moment before climbing on behind him.

"He won't be as fast as a rapidash, but he's still quick so try not to fall off or else you're going to waste time in the hospital." I nodded and clutched his waist.

* * *

Cheryl was waiting for us in front of the expensive cafe we had once been. I half-expected Mira to pop out of nowhere and squeal "Hello!". No one else was there, though. I jumped off Luxray and went to shake her hand.

"Ah, good to see you again! Shall we have lunch while we're talking?" She smiled and pushed open the door.

"You're going to have lunch _here?_" It was hard not to laugh at his response - Volkner had paid nearly a fortune for three cups of tea and a glass of juice last time. I guess he wouldn't want to get inside.

"Don't worry - the bill's on someone else." We didn't have to wait long to find out who that someone was.

"Good afternoon." A man in the blue suit was waiting for us in a private booth, and politely greeted us when we appeared.

"_Riley?_ I thought you were busy with trainers on Iron Island?" I was thrilled to see him, but at the same time I wish he didn't see me like this. I wanted to rush back home and put on some clean clothes, maybe wear a little makeup before returning... On second thoughts, I should just stay cool and be Roark. Cheryl sat next to me while Volkner plopped down beside Riley.

"It doesn't mean I don't have free time. Byron called and told me about you, so I thought I'd pay a visit. Plus, Cynthia entrusted me and Cheryl to fill you in on an important matter. Before we do anything, take a look at this menu - you're probably hungry after your morning training." I wish I could see my reflection... I felt my face get warm just looking at his kind smile. Please don't tell me I'm blushing...

* * *

"I bet Volkner's spamming all his stress on you." Ignoring the blond's snort, I faced Riley. Wow, just look at his perfect features - I'm positively sure that he'll be a successful model if he existed in real-life.

"We haven't done much yet." I replied. The sandwich here was really good. I wonder what ingredients they use...

"She's been too lazy to get up early in the morning." Volkner said in an expressionless voice. I glared at him, but Riley just laughed.

"Don't take it personally - Everyone here knows what an early bird he is. People say he's a humanoid sunflora - getting up with the sun and setting with the sun. If there's no sun, he'll use electric lights." Feeling better, I looked at Cheryl.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Cheryl took a sip of another expensive tea before speaking.

"I got word from Cynthia to ask if you can hurry and prepare a battle for the League members to see within five days." Volkner frowned.

"_Five days?_ Why?" Cheryl spooned some sugar in her tea while answering.

"The reporters have been bugging everyone about Roark. They're wondering why someone else is giving out badges when she's back. We couldn't just go and say she lost her memory, so we're going to have to watch her battle and see if she's fit for the job and announce it the moment we make the decision."

"Why does it have to be five days, though?" I asked. Riley took out a piece of paper from his suit pocket and handed it to me. It featured all eight gym badges of Sinnoh forming a circle around the words, 'Gym Leaders on Stage'.

"Because of this. Do you remember about Contests?" I nodded - I had a conversation with Dawn about it two days ago.

"Fantina had been performing in Contests herself, and she's saying there had been a noticable decline in the number of audiences and participants during the past months. The usual way of pokemon dress-up, dance competitions, and move appeals aren't popular anymore. Another major problem is that the gender ratio of people interested in Contests has become rather unbalanced. Almost 99% is done by females. The performance, the voting, everything. It all turned too - how do you say it - _girly_ for males to enter. Even the pokemons are getting smaller in size and much more feminine."

"So in short, if it keeps up like this, Contests will lose its popularity entirely - even the girls are starting to think it's lame. What's worse is that it's starting to affect Hearthome City's economic growth. Fantina had to close the Contest Hall temporarily because it hasn't been able to pay taxes." Cheryl added.

"In order to save the Contests and Hearthome City," Riley continued. "she thought of new Appeals. She hasn't spilled the beans yet, but there are going to be three competitions like last time. The judges insisted that the grand re-opening should be done by the gym leaders' performance and demonstration of the new methods."

"Cynthia knows how much Contests are important, so she agreed to that idea. Plus, everyone in the region knows about gym leaders and would be interested to see how they can perform on stage - how they would differ from their usual images on the battlefield." I silently agreed to that. Dawn had said something similar to me. Cheryl poured a new cup of tea before continuing.

"This is only the advertisement paper, and the real posters are going to be released after the gym leader photos are taken. The Contest is going to be held ten days from now, and the posters have to be printed no less than three days before the big day."

"Does anyone else know about it?" I asked.

"We got the message only last night. Byron knows since Riley told him. We're going to visit the other gym leaders, but we came to you first because of the position preparation. If you get your job back, then you're going to participate. If you don't become the gym leader... They're going to do the Contest without Oreburgh's gym leader." Cheryl said.

"Either way it would make the reporters shut up." She giggled at my words.

"That brings us back to the subject that you've got to show us a battle in five days, no matter what." Volkner said thoughtfully. "Well, change of plans - I thought we should take this slow, but obviously we shouldn't."

He got up from his seat and started to leave.

"Meet me in front of the pokemon center after you're done with your lunch. The sooner the better."

* * *

Author's note: Thank you everyone who gave me reviews up until now! I really appreciate it. All those comments are fueling me with the energy to keep writing.

As usual, any kind of reviews except flames are welcome.

I changed some minor mistakes and grammar errors of the previous chapters. Nothing new is added. If there are more that I need to fix, please let me know.


	8. Chapter 8: Valley Windworks

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

I tried to think of a conversation while nibbling on my sandwich, but I didn't know what to say. It suddenly became quiet and awkward after Volkner left. To my relief, Cheryl broke the silence.

"Where are you going to train today?"

"Around the Valley Windworks. Volkner is going to catch a new pokemon, and I'm going to battle whatever he caught. At least that was the plan he told me this morning." I replied.

"I see... Volkner sure does has a lot of confidence, saying he'll battle you with a freshly caught pokemon. Here - I've been meaning to give these to you without Volkner knowing."

Riley shuffled through his jacket again and pulled out two CD-shaped metal cards. I received them hesitantly.

"The first one is Rock Polish - it should speed up Cranidos quickly if used multiple times. The second one is Rock Tomb. Use it to cut the opponents speed while attacking them." How considerate - they were both speed-related.

"Thanks, but are you sure it's okay to give it to me? Aren't these for other purposes?"

"I haven't got much use for them - I specialize in attacks, not speed. Besides, I can always get them again so don't worry about it."

"I'll try and use these wisely." I smiled. "I guess I should go now that I'm nearly done with my lunch." I started to stand up.

"Good luck. Don't get too upset even if the results aren't what you wanted. You still have a few days left. That's more than enough time to plan a good strategy."

"Thanks. I'll see you guys later. Bye Riley." I said, trying hard not to sound as if I was flirting. I hurried out of the cafe and paused before going straight to the pokemon center. Looking at the two TMs, I pulled out Cranidos' pokeball and brought him out. In the games, I just stuck a TM to the pokemon's head. Maybe it's the same?

I pressed Rock Polish on Cranidos' head. Nothing happened, though. The TM just stayed there. He stared at me questioningly.

"Um...I want you to learn this, but how do I get you to...?"

It turned out to be pretty simple and stupid. Cranidos grabbed the TM and started munching on it.

"Hey! Are you sure you're going to learn it that way? If it ever works, then forget Pursuit before learning that new move." I had doubts on Cranidos actually eating the TM. Can he digest metal cards? He's made of rocks so I guess he's probably okay... After swallowing the last bite, he just stood there, looking at me.

"Umm... Use Rock Polish and Headbutt that tree!" I ordered randomly. Cranidos began to glow, and soon the whole tree shook, dropping a couple of berries. A waitress opened the window and searched for the source of the loud noise, but went back to work the moment she spotted him and me. Anyway, I noticed that his movement had gotten faster, so eating a TM actually taught him that move. Though, I wonder how it's going to be for HMs...?

* * *

After I met up with Volkner in front of the pokemon center, I had to listen to his non-stop training plans while Cranidos was being healed. I was quite sure he was going to change his training schedule sometime again, so was it really necessary to tell me everything? When he stopped talking to breathe, I seized my chance to change the topic.

"What pokemon are you going to catch, anyway?"

"Any pokemon would do, but I'd prefer Electric-types."

"A shinx, maybe? You already have a luxray, though."

"I should try pokemon I haven't caught before. Maybe... pachirisu?" I giggled, which caused him to raise an eyebrow. _Volkner with a pachirisu?_

"I don't care what you'd catch... but pachirisu doesn't fit your image. They're way too cute. Besides, if you're the strongest gym leader in Sinnoh, won't they be too weak for you?"

"They would for me, but not for you." That one sentence sure did wipe my smile off my face.

"That was kinda mean." I pouted. Nurse Joy called out my name with Cranidos' pokeball on a small tray.

"It's going to stay true if you don't train. Let's go."

* * *

The Valley Windworks sure did have a lot of wind with windmills on nearby hills. Thank goodness I had my helmet on - I always had to keep pressing my hair to prevent it from getting messy in real life. The helmet at least kept my hair calm. Volkner didn't seem to care about the wind, though. We found a pachirisu scurrying about near the building looking frightened, and Volkner brought out his pikachu. Judging by the blue stripe on its forehead, I guessed it was male.

"That one should do." He said confidently. "Use Thunder Wave!" The pachirisu squeaked as he got paralyzed.

"Quick Attack!" Pikachu didn't even use his full strength, and the pachirisu was rolling on the ground, his tail twitching everytime electricity sparked. Volkner threw a pokeball, and sure enough he caught him with just one try. I was impressed - it wasn't easy to catch pokemon with one pokeball in the games. This didn't even take a minute.

"I guess you are one to respect after all." I said as he brought out pachirisu again and sprayed it with a paralyze heal. He scowled slightly.

"What, you're not satisfied that I'm acknowledging you?" The moment Pachirisu was healed with a potion, I took several steps backwards and summoned Cranidos.

"It's just that this little guy was caught rather too easily... Anyway, why don't we get started? You can have the first move."

"Alright... use Rock Polish!" Cranidos started to glow. Volkner looked surprised.

"Wha - when did you teach him that?" I stuck out my tongue playfully as he ordered the move Charm. I could see the point of that move - it made the user too cute to attack. However, it was going to take more than that. Cranidos had a high attack stat, after all.

"Take Down!" Although it didn't KO Pachirisu, the attack did inflict plenty of damage. Pachirisu rolled on the ground growling in anger as sparks flew from his tail, which Volkner noticed with confusion.

"How...? Wait!" Why did he stop the battle? I watched as he picked up Pachirisu and examined his tail.

"He knows Spark... Normally, pachirisu around this area are still too weak to learn any Electric-type attacks."

"He was near the Windworks. Maybe he picked up something inspiring?" Volkner shook his head.

"Even so... If I'm right, this pachirisu had been released shortly after staying with a trainer, perhaps after a battle or two. Maybe that's why it was possible to catch he with one try..."

"What's wrong with that? He didn't seem to have any problems taking orders from you. Just think of him as an, er, overleveled wild pokemon."

"Wild... I don't think so. He's not completely tame either. Doesn't seem so trusting - he hasn't spent much time with his trainer."

"How do you know?" He can tell that much just by looking at a pokemon's appearance?

"Your question proves that you haven't spent enough time with your pokemon." I used to his scoffing, so I ignored his retort and spread out my hand to pat Pachirisu. He squirmed frantically in Volkner's arms.

"Oh, he hates me." I shrugged.

"He doesn't hate you... you're just some stranger who ordered Cranidos to attack him. He seems to dislike battling - you saw Pachirisu's face when Cranidos used Take Down."

"Maybe his trainer had sent him into a lot of violent battles...?"

"That's possible. There might be someone who saw this pachirisu being released. Who knows - his trainer could've released him here. Let's ask the workers." Carrying Pachirisu, he started to head over to the Windworks. I hurried after him with Cranidos and Pikachu at my heels.

* * *

"My god, what has happened?" I covered my mouth with my hands the moment we stepped inside the building. There was nobody, but the whole place was a mess. Papers were scattered on the floor and the chairs and desks were knocked over. Signs of struggle, it seems.

"We'd better call the cops. This doesn't look good." He put Pachirisu down and picked up a telephone and dialed it. "No use, it's dead. I don't even have my tools to fix it... Pikachu, head back to Floaroma Town and look for Cheryl. Bring her back - and if he's still with her, Riley." The yellow rodent dashed out.

"I think we should leave this place as it is now. We shouldn't touch anything." I said.

"There could be someone around. Let's just see. Besides, I might find something useful to bring that phone alive." Volkner started looking under the desks in another room while I waited near the door. However, I soon broke my own promise as I spotted Pachirisu slipping away through another door.

"Hey! Volkner, Pachirisu's getting away!"

"Just go after him. I'll catch up with you later. He doesn't trust you, so don't do anything to make him angry."

Sighing, I followed Pachirisu. This place looked as if there had been a huge fight between large pokemons - the whole office was unrecognizable. Only a few broken computers told me this was an office. Blue sparks were shooting up from behind an upturned desk. Cranidos approached the electricity and soon cried out loud.

"What are you doing the - _My god!_" Pachirisu had been holding up his tail to show his location - a very large pit that must have been dug out (or blown up). Inside, there was a man and a little girl, both who seemed unconcious. They weren't moving and I couldn't hear anything... not even breathing...

_"Volkner!"_ I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Volkner! There's people here! It's an emergency!"

I didn't dare jump in that hole lest I stepped on one of them accidentally. How long had they been in there? Was I too late? Pachirisu was crawling over them, squeaking frantically. I clutched Cranidos and held him tightly, trying hard not to panic. He must have picked up my senses because he started to tremble.

_"What did I tell you?"_ Volkner said behind me. I felt a little better at his presence. "Anyway, we can't just pull them out. We don't know what injuries they may have. A broken bone could pierce a vital organ if we move them without knowing the proper way."

"Then what should we do? We don't know when Cheryl would be here..." I stared at the two people helplessly. "What do we do? Wake them up with Spark?"

"No. Anything could be risky." He said. I noticed how he was being so calm. Was he not scared? Even when those two weren't showing any response to the noises we were making?

"Maybe...maybe they're already..." I felt a lump form in my throat.

"Don't say that. Keep watch and see if they look like waking up. I'll go and try fix the phone."

I wanted to reach out and stop him from going, but I didn't want to take my hands off Cranidos. I needed someone to hang on to. I was so scared being left with two people who I wasn't sure if they were alive. I closed my eyes and prayed they'd be fine before letting go of Cranidos and sitting on the edge of the hole.

A shadow covered my face. I glanced at the window near the hole and spotted something floating away.

Drifloon.

I got back up and went to open the window. It made signs of wanting to get in, but a light breeze was blowing it elsewhere. I got a hold of one of drifloon's string-like arms just before it went out of reach and pulled it in. It bobbed around the messed up office before falling slowly in the hole. Pachirisu took a few steps back and looked at the balloon pokemon curiously.

Drifloon lightly grabbed the girl's hand and started to pull it while making balloon-ish sounds, something that sounded like air filling a balloon. For a fleeting moment, I remembered that drifloon tugged on children to steal them away to the afterlife. Was drifloon trying to do so?

Or maybe drifloon was just trying to wake her up. However, would she? I had already screamed before, and Pachirisu had been crawling on top of her. Would she wake from the light touch of a drifloon? Well, according to the games, she was obsessed with the balloon pokemon so -

"...the...balloo...n..." I gasped and strained to hear some light coughs. The girl was alive! I scrambled to get a good look at her.

"Hey, hey! Are you okay? Can you move?" I called out. The girl just kept coughing. "Can you tug on the balloon pokemon? Tug on it once if it's yes."

Drifloon suddenly plummeted before rising back up. I felt my chest swell with sudden relief and happiness. If she was okay, then probably the man beneath her would also be fine.

"Hold on, we're going to get help real soon - "

" - and right now." A dreamy voice sang. I found Cheryl with blissey approaching me.

"Cheryl! Thank goodness you're here!" Blissey positioned herself near the hole and soon the pit started to shine warmly.

"Riley came too - he's helping Volkner with the phone. Anyway, Volkner said you'd be pretty scared on your own so I came."

"He said that?" I was touched.

"He sure did, calling you a scaredy-skitty." She grinned as I sighed. This guy just knew how to make people exasperated.

* * *

"You don't have to worry anymore. The girl and her father is okay. They were knocked out and injured, but still nothing was broken. There was nothing fatal."

"It's all thanks to that drifloon." Volkner had fixed the phone after Cheryl's blissey finished healing them with first aid, and an ambulance arrived to take them away. The girl wanted to take drifloon with her, but her father said that it should go on its way. Besides, it was going to return next week so she would see one again. So with a teary goodbye, she let go of the drifloon and we watched it float away over the windmills before the ambulance closed the doors.

Cheryl took me to hide behind one of the windmills while Volkner stayed at the Windworks to give testimony to the police who came shortly after the ambulance left. At first, I didn't understand why we had to hide...until some reporters appeared after the police. We watched as Volkner talked to Officer Jenny while Pikachu and Pachirisu was circling around the place.

"Anyway, what was all that? It didn't look like some normal thieving or fight... the whole place was just crashed. What for?" Cheryl thought out loud.

"I've been wondering that, too..." I said softly.

"Maybe, this would tell us something." Riley had slipped away from the scene and approached us.

"Did you find anything?"

"Yeah - I found a badge that obviously didn't belong here. I had to turn it in to the police but I remember how it looks like." He started drawing on the ground with a small rock.

"A badge?" I took notice of the shape. It was the letter G with sharp edges. I recognized it immediately.

"Team Galactic!" I exclaimed. Riley nodded.

"I heard something like that was going around Sinnoh and causing unusual things. Though I can't imagine what they wanted with this Windworks. That man was the owner of this power plant, and Team Galactic was being really inhumane throwing him in a hole with his daughter - who knows how long they were in there. The police are going to question the two after they are fully recovered."

"They stole energy, and a lot at that." Volkner returned from scene and joined us. "A bunch of energy has been stolen - the amount they took almost equals the power to light up at least a thousand houses at once."

That was exactly what happened in the game. Commander Mars came to steal energy, and even though she retreated after losing to the player character, she still managed to get some and send them to the Galactic HQ. However, this wasn't going as the game was supposed to.

"Here's another fact I discovered. Pachirisu almost freaked out at the sight of the badge."

"So maybe someone from Team Galactic used him to take over this place?"

"It's possible. Then after the work was done, he was released."

"Is there a CCTV in the building?"

"There are a few but they're all broken. Nothing was recorded."

Team Galactic... if this is different from the games, how am I going to play it out? I'm not even the player character here...

* * *

Author's note: I know this chapter is kinda lame and boring, but this kind of filler is necessary for the later chapters. :) I'll try updating the next chapter with more details and explanations.

Suggestions, criticism, questions, and anything else excluding flames are absolutely welcome LOL


	9. Chapter 9: The Rematch

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

* * *

"So...it went like this, and this..."

After I got home from Valley Windworks, I got a piece of paper and wrote down the big outline of the pokemon sinnoh games. I just missed Team Galactic at the plant and they successfully stole a lot of energy just moments before I got there. If I were playing exactly the way the games were designed, then I should be involved in events in Eterna City next, then probably Hearthome, then on to Veilstone, Pastoria...perhaps the final showdown with Team Galactic would be in Mt. Coronet, maybe I could also take a trip to the Distortion World. Yay.

However, from the moment I took the place of a gym leader, things weren't going as they were supposed to. I wasn't the player character here. Just some NPC the player has to fight before the next event is unlocked. It was totally unpredictable. I crossed out the whole page and crumbled it up.

Cranidos was curled up under my bed sheets. I didn't want to put him in the pokeball when he was sleeping so peacefully. Today's incident must have scared him. I wonder if Pachirisu is okay. Volkner said he would be fine with other Electric-type pokemons at his gym. I wonder if Team Galactic is harsh to pokemon as much as Team Rocket... I hope the electric squirrel is okay. Cheryl had blissey look after him for a while before leaving to see off Riley.

Speaking of Volkner, I had training schedules packed for the next two days. Pachirisu was too distressed to battle anymore, so Volkner took him home early, telling me that we would train like mad for the rest of the days.

_"Of course, it isn't good to spam all your energy at once, but that's actually how you build up strength and stamina over a short period of time. We only got five days. Give everything you've got for two days, and have some recovery training for three days."_

I recalled his words and recorded it in Roark's diary. A sigh escaped my mouth as I turned off the lights and got in bed next to Cranidos.

* * *

Training with Volkner for two days non-stop was a nightmare. If running fifty laps was hard, then going through caves while battling was nearly killing me. I don't know how many times I ran through Oreburgh Gate, how many wild zubats I brought down, how many pichus I wanted to - oh those pichus were driving me crazy!

On the first day, Volkner had brought five pichus with him, all which were pretty fast. At first, I enjoyed chasing them around with Cranidos since they were so cute... but after a few hours, their squeaking voices were annoying me. None of Cranidos' attacks hit them, even after he used Rock Polish as much as he could. They would just hop out of the way whenever Cranidos would try to approach them. As they were all well prepared, they ignored Stealth Rock.

I fussed and fumed over how it felt so unfair and got in a fight with Volkner. As usual, he yelled at me for being so impatient and told me I could quit if I wanted. I came back home late at night with aches and pains and frustration from all that training. I was so depressed that I cried the moment I sat on the bed. I threw my mining jacket, aiming to hang it on the hack on the wall but it fell to the floor in a heap. I got up, irritated, and wiped my face before going to pick it up. Something rolled out of my pocket and mirrored the bedroom lights, causing a flash.

It was a metal card, one of the TMs Riley gave me before I went to Valley Windworks. If I remember correctly, this one is Rock Tomb.

Quite surprisingly, I easily calmed down the moment I put the TM back in my pocket.

* * *

I had Cranidos get rid of Take Down after thinking what to forget for a long time. I hated to see Cranidos receving recoils. Now that he learned Rock Tomb, he could attack from a distance. He even succeeded landing attacks on those pichus on the second non-stop training. Thanks, Riley!

Volkner didn't like how I appeared with Cranidos knowing Rock Tomb quite suddenly without telling him.

"Just when did you get all the TMs to teach him?"

"Do I have to tell you?" I said, stroking Cranidos as I pulled out my pokeball.

"You don't. I just want to say that it takes time for pokemon to get used to their new moves. Three days would be enough time, but keep that in mind for future battles. By the way, even though you used Rock Tomb, that was certainly an improvement. You see how Cranidos can move with more ease?"

"He's showing progress? That's wonderful!"

"I guess it's safe to say you can reserve a gym battle for the big day."

Remembering Dawn, I went straight to the pokemon center after Volkner left. Though, it was already half past ten so she would probably be sleeping -

"Hi! What are you doing here late at night?" A cheery voice greeted me.

"What are _you_ doing here late at night?" I replied, slightly surprised.

Dawn was watching contests on DVD again in the lobby. Grinning, she pressed the play/pause button before facing me. Wasn't she like, ten years old or something? Is it okay for her to stay up late? My mother never let me stay up to watch TV when I was around Dawn's age.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed by now? Where are your pokemon?"

"They're with Nurse Joy. I can't sleep... I had an exciting day, and I still feel so great!" She threw her arms in the air and stretched, beaming.

"Oh? What did you do?"

"Just trained." She replied with a slight giggle. Something was dangling around her mouth, and I could tell that she could spill the beans if she weren't careful.

"Come on, seriously?"

"It's a secret. You'll know when I battle you."

"Well? I guess I would know about it soon. Dawn, are you free three days from now?"

"Let's see... it depends. Why?"

"If you didn't get the badge already, then why don't we have a gym battle?"

"Really? So you're finally ready!" She jumped up and down in joy. "Of course I'll challenge you! You had better not let me down!"

* * *

Recovery training was also quite intense. Although I didn't move around as I did on the last two days, I battled other pokemon as much as I could. Dawn would probably use Piplup again, and I didn't have attackes that were effective against Water-types. Whether our levels were around the same or not, I would have to rely on strategy.

On the evening of the second day of recovery training, I had a final battle with Volkner's pikachu - which of course Volkner won. However, Cranidos had gotten used to his new moves and was able to damage Pikachu a lot before coming down.

"You're doing pretty fine. Tomorrow's the last day for you to prepare, so don't do anything dangerous or energy consuming. If you feel that you need to move around, just take light walks. Make sure Cranidos has a good rest. Avoid battles if necessary."

"Wow, you're being considerate." I beamed as we zapped in our pokemon. I thought how to thank him for all his hard work. Maybe I should treat him to a nice dinner...

"Not for you." He scoffed. "Everyone knows you've been training with me, and it's going to be extremely embarrassing if you perform poorly on the field."

I am so not going to treat him to dinner! Does he always have to say rude things to me every once in a while? My smile turning into a rather frowning twitch, I sprawled on the grass after taking off my helmet. The night breeze felt so good that all the tension melted away. I heard zubat squeaks from Oreburgh Gate and the music of kricketunes from somewhere. It was rewarding after all that harsh training I've been through, even if it was just four days, not counting before I went to Valley Windworks.

"So, whether you lose or win, you'll officially have authority over that badge. Not to mention control over the mine. You're almost back to where you were before you disappeared." He said, lying down beside me.

"The League might not let me be the gym leader, though. It's all up to their choice. I wonder if I'll be able to show them an awesome battle."

"You will." He said firmly.

"How do you know? All I did was teach Cranidos two new moves, and train for four days. Most trainers do more than that, don't they? Even the girl who's going to battle me trained a lot to the state of excitement."

"Did she? Well, you don't have to worry. She may win, but you will be able to hand her the badge with your own hands."

I rolled on my side and looked at him questioningly. He sighed in exasperation.

"You trained with me - I never fail, and you won't." What a predictable statement. I rolled my eyes.

"That does't sound convincing. Are you sure?"

"Definitely" He said quietly.

I was about to talk back when I noticed how serious he looked. So he was being truthful, believing I would do well. Rolling back to look at the sky, I said softly,

"Thanks. I really appreciate all you did for me. I don't know how I would've done if you hadn't helped."

"Then I guess my work ends here." He said, stretching out his hands as if to grab something in the air.

"Hey."

I waited until he looked at me and asked,

"What?"

"Are you going to come and watch my battle?"

"Flint's going to drag me to the gym even if I say I don't want to."

"You don't have anything worthwhile to do, anyway."

For the first time I've known him, he laughed. It was amusing, seeing how someone like him could actually laugh.

"Yeah, that's the truth. Be sure to entertain the onlookers, including me. Give everything you've got, and make the battle spark."

"I'll try." I whispered.

* * *

I had a nice warm bath at home and gave myself plenty of time to relax. I made sure I didn't sleep in, and helped myself to everything in the kitchen. Well, except the oddish oil.

I spent the day before the gym battle dealing with stress. Cranidos seemed nervous a lot, so I took him to the Oreburgh Mine in the afternoon, where he joyfully played with the soil and rocks. I kept telling myself to take it easy, and tried thinking positively - imagining myself awarding Dawn the Coal Badge and a TM.

"Hey, you're here." A rough voice brought me back to earth.

"Byr - Daddy?"

He was there again with the miners. Even though I knew he wasn't my real father, I liked seeing him here. I felt I could lean on him if I wanted to.

"I heard you're having the gym battle tomorrow. So, are you prepared?" Ah... that question was like a ton of rocks in my stomach. It was hard to respond to that.

"I don't know... but I gotta do my best, right?" I said, without confidence.

If I were some main character like Ash from the pokemon anime, I would've said 'Sure! You just wait and see!'. However, I'm not that kind of person to speak without confirmation. There's always a possibility that things might not work out the way I'd want, and not meeting the expectations isn't pretty.

"Hmmm, not the answer I expected from you, but great anyways. What brings you here?" He said, placing his shovel over his shoulder.

"Cranidos was getting edgy, so I thought we'd come here for a while."

"Good thinking. This place is closest where he came from. How about you? You're alright?" I smiled.

"I'm taking plenty of rest. It wouldn't help to waste energy for no reason."

"Sounds like something that electric boy would say." He snorted. I giggled before calling back Cranidos.

"Oh, he would definitely say that." Cranidos babbled happily at Byron while being patted on the head. I turned to look at the gym. So I would battle Dawn there tomorrow, and the League would decide if I get the job or not. I reminded myself that I would need everything I can to train and get strong enough to go through Mt. Coronet. This was my first test that I musn't fail.

All those thoughts made me nervous. I guess I shouldn't have overthought things - my insides were starting to squirm as something similar to fear crept up from my stomach. Maybe I need to lie down for a moment. I unfastened the belt holding my helmet in place and took several deep breaths. Byron looked at me questioningly. I forced myself a grin.

"I guess I should go home now. Nice talking to you, Dad. See you tomorrow."

"Wait a second."

I was about to leave with Cranidos when Byron called out. I waited. The next thing I knew my helmet was replaced with Byron's large warm hand. I looked up at him (he was taller than I thought), wondering what this meant. Looking back at me, he carefully spoke.

"You're going to do great. I know that starting from tomorrow, I'm going to go around telling everyone that my kid is the gym leader of Oreburgh - again - and the League is going to regret not reappointing you sooner."

Wow, what touching words. He really cares about me. I never imagined Byron to say such things - he always seemed to be so stubborn and tough, getting easily excited over rare fossils, someone who wouldn't pay attention to what he's saying and just blurt out his thoughts... when actually deep inside, he was a real father of a guy whose place I took. Tears welled up in my eyes as slight guilt and gratitude mixed into a large wave of emotion.

I didn't want to cry in front of him, but the tears overflowed. Putting the red helmet back on my head, he patted my shoulder before turning away to help the miners.

"Thanks, Dad." I said as I quickened my steps towards my house. Whether he heard or not, I don't know...though I think I heard something like 'Anytime, kid. Anytime'.

* * *

I hadn't been able to sleep, and my mind was fuzzy in the morning. Who knew that a pokemon match could make a person _this_ nervous? The only time I screamed over pokemon battles in the real world was when I faced the champion in the games, especially the final one-on-one with my strongest pokemon with the champion's signature pokemon. Never did I sweat over gym battles.

However, I was the leader here. Not yet, but this will determine whether or not I'd be the leader. I forced myself to have some breakfast, healed Cranidos over three times before arriving at the gym one hour early than the scheduled match.

"Roark! This is your day!" Mira waved from the stands. "I've been looking after your gym up till now - and you'd better take it back!"

"Oh, sure I will... if I can." I said. Cheryl was with her, and she gave me a worried look.

"If you're not feeling well, I can have Blissey take a look at you."

"No, that's not necessary. Thanks for the offer."

"I'll be here. Just tell me if you need any help."

I nodded as I paced around the field. As time went by, people started to arrive. Cynthia, Lucian, Flint, Byron, Volkner, Buck, Riley, and there was even Bertha. Everyone had those serious expressions on their faces except for Mira, who was smiling and waving at me. Lucky for her being a child. I didn't look at the stands - I was sure I would faint if I had eye-contact with anyone.

A professional-looking referee replaced her and was doing some of his own warm-ups before the match. I checked the clock. Dawn should be here any minute.

"The challenger has arrived! The battle shall begin shortly the moment the two are ready. This will be a one-on-one battle with no substitutions."

All thoughts I had last night flew through my mind as the referee announced the rules. The training I had done with Volkner, my short talk with Byron, Riley's gifts... I was determined not to disappoint anyone sitting in the stands right now. Dawn hurridly put her bag aside as she picked one pokeball out of it. She was breathing heavily as she pounded her chest. Her smile was a little weak. I could tell she was nervous, too.

"Without further ado... let the battle begin!"

"Good luck, Cranidos!"

"Into the spotlight!"

We both tossed our balls in the air. Cranidos appeared on my side as a figure larger than Piplup appeared on the other side. A prinplup! So that's why she looked so happy last time. This going to be tough.

"The challenger has the first move!" The referee blew his whistle. Dawn pointed directly at Cranidos as she gave an order.

"Bubblebeam!"

A stronger Water-type move than Bubble... After some quick thinking, I had Cranidos use Stealth Rock. This time, they didn't pop the bubbles, but created a stone wall around Cranidos and protected him after a few bubble hits. Dawn blinked, looking impressed.

"We have to go through that! Use Metal Claw!"

"Rock Polish!"

Prinplup hacked at the stones, and I used that moment to speed up Cranidos. I hoped the wall would hold up until Cranidos gained enough speed, but that prinplup had already broken down some of the rocks. Seriously, this was going to be one hell of a match. Prinplup already knows two moves that are super-effective against Cranidos, and I'm going to have to get through that. The only problem is, how? Just thinking of what to do next was making me sweat. I wish I had plenty of time to think of what to do next.

Of course, I wasn't going to select Run, or Pokemon. Since I don't have any items, the Bag option is out. I have to pick one of the moves from the list.

"Use Bubblebeam full power!" Dawn yelled. I was taken aback at her sudden order, but no time to be startled - Cranidos isn't exactly in a favorable situation.

"Rock Tomb!"

Of course, Prinplup was so close to Cranidos and one side of the wall was nearly gone. Bubblebeam easily made it to the other side and some got Cranidos. However, not all of them succeeded reaching Cranidos - Dawn's prinplup and his surroundings were soon bombarded with rocks falling from above. Her hands were pressing each side of her cheeks as she let out a yelp of surprise. It reminded me of some famous painting in the real world, the one with a person screaming and the title having something to do with it.

"Prinplup! Are you okay?" The penguin dusted himself as he got back in position. Dawn breathed as she clutched her hat. "Good! Use Metal Claw!"

"Stealth Rock!" I tried. If I could just earn a bit more time, I'm sure I'll be able to make some opportunity for Cranidos to gain the upper hand.

The wall formed again just as Prinplup was about to slash Cranidos. I watched the wall fall apart the moment it assembled - which was something I didn't expect. Prinplup's attack must have increased.

"Metal Claw, again!"

"Rock Polish!"

I risked receiving the attack this time. If only Cranidos could get ahead in speed... After that one attack, Cranidos looked in pain and worn out. I could feel panic making my hands tremble as I tried to control myself.

"Bubblebeam!"

"Headbutt!" I yelled out without thinking. Only after the words left my mouth did I realize I just shoved Cranidos into danger. Maybe this is my turn to imitate that famous painting.

However, before Prinplup could shoot his bubbles, Craniods slammed his head onto the penguin's body. Prinplup was thrown backwards and he landed on the ground. Panic was replaced with excitement as I saw how this was a good opportunity to turn the tables around.

"This is our chance! Rock Tomb!"

"No! Prinplup! Get out of the way and use Bubblebeam!" Dawn screamed.

Prinplup couldn't move out in time. His speed was slowly decreasing. With an angry cry, he shot his bubbles, which Cranidos received full in the face.

"Rock Tomb, again!"

"Use Metal Claw on the falling rocks!"

Now I'm sure the next time Cranidos gets hit by that Metal Claw, he's going to faint. Prinplup's attack was getting stronger every time he slashed at the rocks. I could tell by how the rocks were getting smashed into pieces - smaller pieces as Prinplup kept going. He lost a lot of speed, but gained a lot of attack. What a change in stats, and that just limited my choice of moves.

"Another Rock Tomb!"

"Stop... that...! Metal Claw!" Dawn said through gritted teeth.

Looking at Cranidos, this match already seemed to have reached it's conclusion. Receiving super effective moves had done horrible damages to him, and that Prinplup seemed to have a lot more HP left. I could keep stalling by using Rock Tomb over and over but then Prinplup would just use Metal Claw, and soon enough he'll be able to get rid of the rocks in one slash. Even though the point of this battle wasn't winning or losing (to me, not to Dawn), I didn't want to end this. Not yet.

I didn't care if Cranidos lost or won. I just wanted this to continue. However, Dawn was already frustrated and impatient. This was the first time I saw Dawn as a regular girl getting upset over a battle - if I were in her shoes I would probably get irritated and swear at the leader for using the same attacks again and again, but unfortunately for her, I'm going to have to do this my way.

"Use Rock Tomb!" Dawn stared at the falling rocks and looked at Prinplup, not flinching in the slightest as he got hit by the stones. The penguin glanced back at his partner curiously, wondering why she didn't even tell him to get out of the way. Perhaps she is deciding which move to use instead of Metal Claw.

"Bide!" She finally yelled.

Prinplup started glowing as he stored energy. Even though it wouldn't be as effective as the other attacks he has, this was one not to ignore. Cranidos was already near the end of his HP - is there anyway to avoid this?

"Stay far away from him as possible and use Stealth Rock!" I called out.

I repeated using Stealth Rock in hopes to build a strong wall that would hold against Prinplup. Dawn, me, the referee all stumbled backwards and fell down the moment Prinplup unleashed all the energy. Something similar to a wind had pushed me, perhaps an energy wave? Like, an invisible fist punched me painlessly. For Cranidos, the Stealth Rock wall itself crumbled down, revealing some scratches on the dinosaur. So it was actually an energy wave that could go through materialized things and damage the opponent. I didn't know that - the games made it like it was a physical thing... or was it really physical?

Cranidos coughed before falling over. The referee announced Dawn's victory. As she rushed out to hug her prinplup and celebrate, I finally gathered the courage to look at the League members in the stands.

I waited for the words that would decide my fate.

* * *

Author's note: Was the battle too lame? I hope it wasn't - I added some more stuff. If you have any questions, suggestions, criticism, or compliments, pour it all in the review section.

I would be more than happy to receive any comments. Flames will be deleted.


	10. Chapter 10: Of Galaxies and Bicycles

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

_'Hi, Roark!_

_Guess what? I finally became the gym leader! The League members all said yes! By the way their expressions were so serious, I thought they'd say no for sure. Thank goodness I was wrong._

_It felt great to give the badge to the challenger - she was so excited. Cynthia had invited a few reporters to broadcast the announcement of the official return of Oreburgh's gym leader, and I was really nervous while answering a few questions. They didn't pry too deep - Cynthia blocked them when they tried to, so I didn't have to do any awkward explaining. I owe her a lot._

_I'll take good care of the gym and the mine for you. By the time you get back, you're going to thank me for all the management I've done._

_Oh, and by the way, there's going to be a Gym Leader Contest soon. I heard Fantina came up with new appeals and we're going to demonstrate them. I wonder what they are? There will be a meeting tomorrow evening - and she'll tell us about the general overview. We're also going to have our pictures taken for the posters. I can't wait._

_Sincerely,_

_Your imposter.'_

I used color pens and doodled stars and hearts on the page along the large 'Congarts To Me' logo I drew. Writing diaries had been one of my long kept habits, and when I was younger I liked to color each page with crayons. My mom would often tell me not to use up a whole stack so quickly just writing diaries but I did it anyway. My colorful diary in real-life would be collecting dust beneath my bed by now - unless someone found it. Closing the notebook shut, I reached out for the remote control and turned on the living room TV. As the screen appeared, I shifted in a more comfortable position on the living room couch.

They were re-airing the moment of my reappointment and giving Dawn the Coal Badge. She held it up to the camera and waved.

"Mom! Mom! I got my first badge!"

Good for you, I thought. Now all you have to do is go get all eight badges, challenge the league and become the next champion. Oh, and take care of Team Galactic while you're at that, Dawn. Just like the games.

A sudden question came to mind.

If Dawn had gotten her badge sooner, could she had prevented Mars from taking the energy from Valley Windworks? Maybe Mars would've taken it anyway but at least the drifloon-obsessed girl and her father would've been safe.

Was it my fault I defeated her in the first place?

Would it be the same in Eterna City? Perhaps until Cyrus uses the Red Chain to awaken the legendary pokemons?

"This brings an end to our broadcasting. See you next week!"

I broke out of my thoughts at the loud ending theme of the program and turned off the TV. I realized I had been sweating, and wiped my face with a towel. This isn't the moment to hang around - I need to find out if there's been any trouble in Eterna City.

I need to know if I'm the one corrupting the events in this game story.

* * *

I set off early in the morning. If I had a bike, then I would've taken the Cycling Road to Eterna City, but since I didn't, I had to take a long walk around Jubilife City and Eterna Forest. I didn't even stop to rest at Floaroma Town - it took a couple of hours but fortunately, I had stacked up a lot of stamina due to all that training with Volkner. I wasn't even tired.

The city was very green - not that the buildings or the roads were green, but I noticed a lot of them were built based on eco-friendly materials. However, one particular building came in sight even before I stepped into the city. A huge, dark-metallic building with yellow horns sticking out. There was also a bluish light coming from the roof - I could see that even though the sun was still up.

"Team Galactic's building..."

It had a large fence around it, making it impossible to get inside. Where there wasn't a fence, there was a large tree. In the games, a pokemon would've cut it down, but since I don't have the HM Cut, I'll have to climb it over. I grabbed a branch and started heaving myself up. I was reaching for the next branch when someone yelled below me.

_"Roark!"_

Yikes! That surprised me so much that I lost my balance and fell to the ground, with leaves stuck to my helmet and jacket. Thanks to my helmet, I didn't receive much pain from hitting the ground, though I was shaken. As I lay flat, my sight set on an orange haired girl with black-streaked-bangs crouching down. Behind her, there were several people talking among themselves. She bended over, blinking as she put her face close to mine. I could see tiny freckles over her nose, which were quite cute.

"Gardenia?" I coughed as I got up. She grinned hugely as she sat comfortably in front of me.

"Hi. I heard you were reappointed yesterday. Congrats!" She said.

"Thanks. What are you doing here?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you. Me? I live here. What are _you_ doing here, climbing up a tree? A townsperson told me there was a thief trying to break into that building. Do you know how much I was surprised to come and find _you_?"

I was about to talk back when I realized that what she said was half-true. Anyone would've thought I was some bad guy. The rest of the people walked away as they saw Gardenia being friendly to me.

"I'm not here to steal anything. I'm just checking on... some personal business." I said hesitantly.

"Like _what_?" Her cheerful attitude suddenly changed as she narrowed her brows. "What would the gym leader of Oreburgh have to do here?"

"I'll tell you the details later. Can you cut down this tree for me? I need to get in."

"Not until I know what you're up to. Do you know about this place anyway? Cheryl told me you lost half your memory." She said flatly.

"This...this place has something to do with that." I muttered. Oh great. Was this the best lie I could come up with? She glanced around before opening her mouth.

"Are you sure?" She asked in a hushed voice. I gaped. She actually bought that?

"Maybe...? There's a possibility." I shrugged, silently sighing in relief.

"Okay." She stood up, bringing out her Roserade. "But I'm coming with you. This building had been here for some time, and it's a mystery to us all. I thought it would be best not to pry into it... but if it considers our fellow gym leader's well-being, then I'm in. Roserade, use Cut!"

I was glad she said she was going to tag along. She was going to be a big help if I ever have to fight against Team Galactic members. The branches fell down one by one and piled up at our feet. Soon, there was enough space for a person to walk through.

"Thanks. Let's get in quietly just in case - "

CRASH! A chair smashed through a window from the building. Forget about being quiet - Gardenia squeaked in surprise as she had Roserade use Magical Leaf to send the glass fragments flying at other directions. The chair narrowly missed us and smashed on the ground. I felt my chest tighten and heart pound hard - was I too late? I tossed my pokeball.

"It came from the fourth floor! Cranidos, use Headbutt at the doors!"

The moment the doors were knocked down, Gardenia and I got into the building as people started gathering, shouting and pointing. I wasted no time as I rushed up the stairs. Gardenia was saying something behind me, but I didn't pay attention to her - I needed to get to the scene as soon as possible. If Team Galactic is there, if someone is standing up to them...

The top stairs on the fourth floor had been blocked with furniture. I kicked and shoved them and managed to clear the way in two tries. When I finally came through, I caught sight of a man fighting tooth and nail with two Galactic grunts, while there were more placing wailing pokemons in a metal box. There was a woman with purple hair not doing anything, but staring at the fight with amusement.

"Jupiter!" I cried angrily as I jumped in. I was just in reach to tackle her, when several grunts came and blocked me. They grabbed my arms and legs, preventing me from moving and slammed me down to the floor. Now that totally hurt... Through my watering eyes, I saw Gardenia arrive up the stairs. She took several gulps of air before ordering an attack. Cranidos came into the scene as Roserade ran to the front.

"Rose...rade... Magi...c...al... Leaf!"

Several sparkling leaves spun like boomerangs at the grunts and the ones fighting with the man leapt back with yelps and scratches.

"Mr. Rickshaw! Are you okay? Can you stand?" She called out as she rushed forward after catching her breath.

"I'm okay - but those goons took my clefairy! They took other people's pokemon!" He said furiously.

"Roark! What happened to _you_?" Gardenia gasped - thank goodness Mr. Rickshaw was holding her back preventing her from dashing to help me. The two grunts who had been fighting Mr. Rickshaw earlier on now called out their golbats and stood protectively in front of Jupiter. Roserade was waiting for orders nervously in front of her partner.

"Excuse me, but 'take' is not appropriate." Jupiter snapped. "We said we would 'borrow' it for a while. We're conducting an experiment on space, and clefairy are from the moon. So we need them for our project."

"Who knows if you're going to 'return' them nicely?" Mr. Rickshaw shot back.

"You'll get them sooner or later..." She said in a deadly soft voice. "Now, what to do with this young man here..." The grunts forced me to stand up, and I caught eye-contact with Cranidos near the stairs. Okay, let's calm down and think... I can't do anything with my arms and legs being held by grunts, anyway... Cranidos could attack with Headbutt, but the grunts are going to catch him. He'll need rocks, but there aren't rocks inside this place, although there could be plenty outside...

"Oh, so you're the gym leader of Oreburgh? What a nice surprise. I didn't expect to see you here."

"Return the pokemon to their owners, Jupiter!" I said as I squirmed. To Cranidos, I was motioning with my fingers to get him near Gardenia and Mr. Rickshaw, who were both kneeling in front of the smashed window. I don't know if he got the sign, but he did move over next to Roserade. The golbats twitched at his every step, preparing to strike in case Cranidos attacked.

"Not now. I'll give them back when we're done. Of course, if they're alive, that is..." She said pushing back my head. I glared at her. "You're being pretty persistant - I'll take care of you personally. Skuntank!"

Just as the large skunk appeared between me and Jupiter, I managed to call out to Cranidos,

"Use Rock Tomb!"

"What?" Gardenia and Jupiter both looked at me as if I had done something stupid, apparantly to them. The latter burst out laughing.

"What a pity! There aren't any rocks inside this building for your poor pokemon to use... Get rid of him, Skuntank. Night Slash!"

I braced myself for piercing pain, but instead I heard people screaming around me. Large rocks were flying through the smashed window, knocking out the golbats and injuring some of the grunts. They let go of me the moment a rock landed flew over my head.

"Oh no you don't!" Gardenia yelled. "Magical Leaf!"

There were other screams as the leaves prevented the grunts from touching the metal box. Gardenia reached into her pocket and brought out a cherubi and a turtwig in front of them. The grunts stepped back, gritting their teeth before Jupiter zapped back her Skuntank.

"We're retreating for now. There's no way we can win against gym leaders. Move!" She pushed me out of her way as the grunts kicked a wall, revealing a large slide. At a glance, I noticed it led to a vehicle for their escape. One by one, they slid down - disappearing instantly.

"You're not leaving!" I grabbed her arm, and pulled her back. I expected rage or fear, but she was grinning. I was taken aback.

"By the way, thanks for remembering my name. I'm flattered."

...What? My grip on her loosened.

"Roark, get back!" This time, Gardenia pulled me as Jupiter disappeared through the slide. The grass gym leader had saved me just in time to avoid getting piled under the collapsing ceiling. We heard screams and cries from outside. Looking out the window, we saw a large truck driving ferociously down the streets and out of the city.

"My baby! Clefairy!" Mr. Rickshaw shouted. He was hugging a crying clefairy while other pokemons danced around them. So finally, case solved. I met up with Jupiter here, just in time...

"You know, Roark? That Rock Tomb was the stupidest, most reckless move I had ever seen. Did you actually think that rocks would fly up here from outside?" Gardenia sighed as she sat down, patting her Roserade. I high-fived with Cranidos.

"Honestly, no."

"Whether you knew or not, we saved the pokemon, and it's all thanks to you. What a coincidence - good thing you were trying to get in here in the first place."

"Yeah..." I said, taking off my helmet. Mr. Rickshaw approached us in tears.

"How can I ever thank you two? You can ask me anything - anything! I'll do everything I can to repay you!"

"That's not really necessary..." I began. Wait, wasn't this guy the owner of the bicycle shop in Eterna City?

"Still - " He said with pleading eyes.

"I changed my mind. You own a bicycle shop here, right? If it's not too much trouble, can I get a bike?"

"Oh, yes yes! Of course! You can have the best bicycle - free of charge!" He said happily. The pokemon around him cheered. "You can have one, too, Gardenia."

"I won't refuse." She giggled.

* * *

A few hours later, Gardenia and I were riding our bikes down Cycling Road. Since it was straight downhill, we didn't have to pedal. She chattered on and on about how to get to Hearthome on a bike, but I wasn't really listening. After we called the police, they came and asked us a lot of questions. I told them they were related to the events of Valley Windworks, and they brought a list to read out aloud.

"The witnesses told us that a woman named Mars and several identical sidekicks had shoved them in the pit. The two put up a fight, but obviously, in vain."

"Are they okay?"

"Yes. The girl is going to be released tomorrow, although the father needs to stay hospitalized for another week."

I replayed the day's events in my head as I biked. There was something I couldn't get off my mind.

_"By the way, thanks for remembering my name. I'm flattered."_

Jupiter didn't ask me how I knew her name. She said I remembered it. Which means, the real-Roark must have met her at least once before disappearing. I tried recalling the Galactic events of the games, but not a single gym leader of Sinnoh had ever come face-to-face with Team Galactic. In the games, Cheryl knew of their existance but never actually met them in Eterna Forest; Riley actually battled against the grunts with the player character; Cynthia helped the player win against Cyrus; and Buck assisted in the arrest of the remaining Galactic members. Gym leaders were never involved.

Could it be that the disappearance of the real-Roark has something to do with Team Galactic? Maybe yes, maybe no. I'll have to track down the next events to find out.

"Watch where you're going!" Gardenia's voice woke me up from my thoughts, but it was too late. I crashed into the exit gate of Cycling Road. Oww... now I know why real-Roark always wears his helmet wherever he goes. If it weren't for that, I would've received a serious injury. I did get scrapes on my hands, and I was sure my knees were bleeding, too. Still, I dusted off myself, and got back on the bike.

"Are you okay? You were spacing out." She asked worridly. I grinned and shook my head.

"You don't have to be concerned about me. How long do you think it'll take to get to Hearthome by bike?"

"From here? It's not actually that far from Oreburgh, so maybe thirty minutes or an hour. The meeting doesn't start until 6 PM, so we've got more than enough time. If you're tired, we can rest a bit - "

"Thanks for the offer, but no. I want to tour around Hearthome before the meeting. Better get there early." I stepped on the pedal.

"Hey, wait for me!" Gardenia shouted.

* * *

Author's note: Yay, finally an update! I'll accept any questions, suggestions, compliments, and criticism from everyone! Just write down your opinions in the review and I'll take in everything except flames. Like the Valley Windworks chapter, this is sort of filler with a little important stuff here and there. (...when did Team Galactic become stuff for filler? LOL)


	11. Chapter 11: Hearthomesick

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

"HEY! Watch it!"

We were approaching the gates of Hearthome City when a buneary hopped about in the middle of the road. Gardenia shrieked as she hit the breaks. She lost her balance and her bike ran into mine. Both of us ended up on the ground in a mess of gears and wires. Once again, I must thank my helmet for protecting my head. Gardenia managed to avoid getting scratches by landing on me. The buneary didn't even blink at the crash. Some people near the fountain gathered to see what the commotion was. I tried to untangle myself without getting hurt from the bicycle.

"My goodness! Are you okay?" A young woman rushed to us. Catching the brown bunny, she scolded, "Buneary, bad girl! See what you've done!"

"We're fine." Gardenia groaned as she pushed her bike off her leg. "Is she hurt?"

"She's okay. I'm terribly sorry for this. Do you need any help?" The woman held out her hand and I grabbed it to get up.

"Thanks, but no thanks. Nice to meet you, by the way." She beamed as she curtsied slightly.

"I'm Keira, Contest Judge. It's a pleasure to meet both gym leaders of Oreburgh and Eterna."

Ah, I almost forgot. There was a short scene meeting the contest judge upon arriving at Hearthome in the actual games. Funny that I ran into the exact buneary the player character does. She just stared at us without any signs of guilt or surprise.

"Are you going to be one of the judges in our contest as well?" Gardenia asked.

"Well, no. I'm going to help out backstage. I hear Fantina is going to invite very important judges for this contest." Keira said without bothering to lower her voice. Fortunately, the onlookers didn't seem to hear us.

"Do you know who?"

"I have no idea. But if it's someone Fantina knows, then it ought to be someone very famous. I should get going now. I wish you two good luck!" With a hasty wave, she skipped down the road and out of sight.

"Now what do we do? Look at our bikes. I'm not sure if we'll be able to ride them again." Gardenia said as she kicked one of the tires.

"You're being rude, you know?" A familiar sarcastic voice came near the fountain. "It's your fault the bicycles ended up that way." Gardenia snorted and turned to face the speaker standing in front of the spraying water, only to raise her eyebrows in surprise.

"Volkner?" An afro was next to him, grinning. "_And Flint?_"

* * *

"So you were watching the whole thing? And you didn't even bother to come help?" Gardenia said in disbelief. The bystanders had gone, and we dragged our bikes over to the fountain and let Volkner fix them with his handy tools he always seemed to carry. He was already done with one bike in less than a minute. For someone who renovated a whole gym , I guess it's a piece of cake to fix a bicycle.

"Well, the buneary lady was there instead." He said indifferently. When Gardenia threw Flint a glare, he shrugged. I falm-paced and muttered.

"You're not a really nice person." Volkner snorted and ignored me.

"Here. Take care of your bikes. Shame on you for not knowing how to fix them yourselves." He said as we got our bikes back. Flint laughed before shoving him.

"Don't take it personally - he's always been like this." When Volkner scowled, Flint hurridly changed the subject.

"So, what brings you here early? You still have over an hour left till the meeting."

"Roark wants to spend some time in Hearthome." Gardenia said sweetly. "Do you have any places you'd recommend, _Flint_?" I noticed she was deliberately putting pressure on her words.

"Let's see... How about the Contest Hall? Oh, wait, you're going to be there later. Hmmm... there's a cooking place where you can make poffins for free if you bring a berry. There's also Amity Square." Flint grinned. "Say, why don't we make some poffins and take a stroll in the park?"

"That would be wonderful! Why don't we go right now?" She clapped her hands.

"Umm, guys - " I started to say.

"Then, off we go!" Flint said as he ran in the direction of the poffin house, with Gardenia kicking the ground to get on her bike. Volkner rolled his eyes before following them.

I sighed as I pulled my bike. Even if we made poffins, I had no pokemon to take into Amity Square. They allow only certain pokemons, and I'm sure Cranidos was not on that list. Well, I guess I should just take my share of poffins and tour the city myself.

While I was walking, I noticed how hearthome looked like any ordinary city in real life. Lots of buildings, streets bustling of people... It felt great, nostalgic, even. I grew up in a large city myself, and Hearthome reminded me of my hometown. The only difference between here and real life, I suppose, was the slightly smaller buildings. No towering skyscrapers here.

It brought back memories of my childhood days, when I would play hide-and-seek in alleyways with my friends. We would make believe that there was a hero jumping from building to building on a string of webs, which made every kid pretend to be heros. Ah, those were the good days. I miss where I lived.

Rather a lot. I felt a slight twitch somewhere around my heart.

"You're not coming in?" I was awakened by an irritated voice. Shoving my bike next to where Gardenia left it, I walked through the door Volkner was holding open for me.

I was greeted by a delicious scent. Immediately, a plate of sweet cookies came to my mind and I felt another twitch at my heart - my mother used to make cookies as hobbies, and I would be the first to taste the samples.

"Thanks." I didn't wait for a reply. "So, how many poffins are we going to make, Gardenia?"

The cooking place was rather small. There was a bar on one side, and cooking tables at another. A lot of ingredients were on the table. Perhaps this isn't as simple as spinning the stylus on the screen?

"Oh, just a few. There could be other people who wants to make poffins, and we can't stay here all day." She said as she put on an apron. There were already a five berries in a pot, which was quite huge - about the size of a large frying pan.

"I'm glad they provide everything else. Where did you get those berries?" Flint picked up a blue one and was about to bite it when Gardenia smacked his hand with a batter. The berry fell back into the bowl with a clattering sound. Gosh, it must have a hard shell.

"Those aren't for you, and for your information, I grow berries myself and always carry a few on me. Now, if you'll kindly read the instructions on the note over there..." She pointed to a small piece of paper, which I picked up.

"Ummm, first you put half a cup of flour in a bowl..."

After about fifteen minutes, there were twenty poffins in our hands, each colored differently. It was just like making cookies like in the real world - using flour, the berries, and moo-moo milk. I expected the process to include eggs, but it didn't. Gardenia had done a good job in mixing up the ingredients and making the dough. She was also the most successful stirring them without any spills or burns. I had been too cautious and burned the whole thing, while the the other guys had stirred too fast and spilled most of the dough.

Even though we produced a lot of foul poffins, we had fun. At least I had a good time. I enjoyed being included with other people, and actually felt they could be my close friends. I wish I had cooked more often with my mom...

"Five for you, for you, for you, and for me!" Gardenia said happily as she distributed the poffins. We all got five poffins with different colors - the colors of the contest categories. I packed them carefully in a plastic bag. I won't need a poffin case since I won't be making anymore in the future.

"We're done making the snacks - let's go to Amity Square!"

* * *

I was a little intimidated by the large flashy gate. I knew it was a free public park that allows anyone with certain pokemon to enjoy, yet I couldn't help imagine those expensive private properties in the real world. Once, I had the opportunity to take a look in someone's garden, and it was more beautiful than a huge park. Perhaps Amity Square would have the same kind of quality?

"So, you have these pokemon! Would you like to take a stroll with your infernape?" The lady at the entrance gate of Amity Square scanned Flint's pokeballs with a machine that resembled those bar code scanners in real world supermarkets.

"I sure would!" He said. Lucky guy - the starter pokemon can go in, even though they're not suitable for the square's standards.

"I'm going with Turtwig!" Gardenia said as she brought out her pokemon.

"That's fine. And you, sir?"

"Pikachu, of course." Volkner didn't even looked at the lady as his pikachu was half sitting on his left shoulder. She then turned to me, waiting to scan my pokeball. I glanced at Cranidos' ball before putting it back in my pocket. Shrugging, I was about to open my mouth to tell her I wasn't going in when Volkner threw me a pokeball. I almost missed, but caught it nonetheless.

"Oh, and you forgot to take him back." He said before heading inside. The lady scanned the pokeball and beamed.

"Very well! You may go in with your pachirisu!" The ball popped open, revealing the exact pachirisu I had met at Valley Windworks. I was glad to see him.

"Hey, buddy!" He squeaked non-stop while running around my feet in circles. I picked him up and carried him to where the rest the group was waiting.

"Huh? Isn't that a pachirisu? Since when were you into electric-type pokemons?" Gardenia asked as she put her turtwig on the ground, where it sniffed the grass eagerly.

"Not mine - I didn't have any pokemon to get in here, so I borrowed from him." I stroked the squirrel's fur, and he flicked his tail. Pachirisu seemed in a much better condition than we last met. Being with a whole lot of Volkner's other electric-type pokemon must have helped him recover from being used and abused by Team Galactic.

Speaking of Team Galactic, should I tell Volkner about what happened in Eterna City? Well, it would probably be in the news sooner or later, but maybe he should get the details? Maybe I should tell him. I pondered on how to tell him secretly without letting the other two know - they didn't need to worry over it for now.

"Ouch!" A spark occurred and I felt as if my hand was being pricked. Pachirisu jumped down from my arms and started fleeing across the park.

"Come back! Wait!" I called as I went after him. Volkner's pikachu zoomed past me and pounced on pachirisu. The two rodents tumbled and rolled, until they entered a large stone structure. Their squeaks echoed faintly as I reached it.

"Both of you get out, now!" I said firmly. However, their voices grew distant until after a minute or so, I heard nothing. I poked my head into the entrance of the stone structure, but it was pitch dark. I couldn't see anything.

"What, you're scared to go in?" As always, someone has to be sarcastic.

"I'm just trying to figure out where the two went. I can't hear them." I paused before reaching out my hand. No wall.

"You're not going to find them like that." Suddenly, he pushed me into the darkness.

"HEY!" I toppled over stone steps and grasped onto one of the rocks sticking out, preventing myself from bumping into anything. When I stopped, I slowly let go of the rock, letting myself skid down a slope back out to daylight. It didn't take long for me to realize I had moved to another part of the square through the stone structure. In one of the games, these supposedly had some sort of teleporting features.

Pachirisu and Pikachu were both emitting sparks as they fought tooth and nail in a grassy patch in the park. Several people gathered to see what was happening. I didn't want to get shocked, so I just sat where I was, watching the fight.

"Out of the way." I felt a light kick, and Volkner brushed me aside. Heading over to the two rodents, he pulled out leather gloves from his pocket.

"Alright, you two. Enough." Catching them by their tails, he pulled them apart. Dangling in mid-air, they kept shooting electricity to each other. Narrowing his eyebrows, he said in a louder, strict voice.

"_I said, enough!_ Roark, bundle him up with your jacket." He held out Pachirisu to me. I took off my mining jacket and wrapped the squirrel with it as Volkner did the same to his pikachu. However much the rodents tried to shock one another, the flow of electricity was shut down, and they were confined.

"Show's over. I'm not letting you go until you calm down." Volkner said sternly. The crowd left. Pikachu desperately squeaked and sparked, trying to tell him something. Pachirisu bawled as he slowly reduced his sparks. I walked over to the nearest bench in sight and cuddled him. They had been on good terms the last time I saw them, so what happened?

Pachirisu exhausted himself after all the screaming and calmed down. Pikachu took a much longer time to cool. I sighed as Volkner sat next to me with pikachu in his arms.

"What happened? Weren't they friendly just a few days ago?"

"They were. However, there had been a few problems ever since Pachirisu joined our gym." He said casually as if this wasn't anything new.

"Like...?"

"He tried his best to fit in, but as you might know, there were territory fights among the pokemon outside the pokeballs. Of course, Pachirisu wasn't even daring to steal anyone's space, but Pikachu seemed to think this newcomer was taking away all the attention - which is half true. The trainers at our gym were pretty fond of Pachirisu, and that must have led Pikachu to think his own spot and space was in danger. So they've been fighting a lot. Especially since their special training started."

"Special training?" He showed disdain and didn't reply. I was taken aback, but didn't push the matter any further. It must be something to be discreet about.

"Ah, well. If they're not that friendly to each other, then I suppose they shouldn't stick together. I'm going back to the other two. They'll probably wonder where we went - "

"They won't." Volkner pointed to an area on a slightly higher altitude, and there was Gardenia and Flint, leaning on the fence and waving at me.

"Oh." I was about to open the bundle, but immediately held it tightly again as Pikachu started growling. Pachirisu whimpered at the sound.

"Easy, boy." I whispered as I reached out to pat him on the head. However, I decided not to when I saw blue sparks. So I wrapped him with my arms instead and rocked back and forth to comfort him.

"You don't have to be afraid of him... He's just scared like you." I don't know if he'll understand, but I felt this was necessary.

It had worked for me when I was young.

* * *

_'You don't have to be afraid of her... She's just scared like you.'_

_'Do you think so, Mommy? But she said she hates me!'_

_'Be patient. You're bound to understand her soon...'_

* * *

"Be patient. You're bound to understand him soon...

An image of my mother hugging me tightly popped up and her voice echoed. Not long after, my dad joined the scene, standing behind me firmly and saying everything would be alright.

_'Dad, will everything be alright? Mom, I don't know where I really am when I need you...'_ I thought desperately.

I felt my eyes sting as my family appeared inside my head, and faded repeatedly. No, I wasn't going to cry, I won't cry...

However, I soon reached my limit. A million worries that had at least crossed my mind up till now spilled and soon drenched me all over in no particular order. The problem was, every time a worry passed through my brains, the amount of fear building up inside me doubled.

What if I never get back home?

Will Mom and Dad miss me?

Would I forget the real me?

Will I get stuck being a game character forever?

What if I have to live here forever?

What if humans can die here?

What if humans can't die here?

Am I already mad?

Would I be -

"Roark? Roark! Are you okay? Snap out of it!" Volkner said roughly as he gripped my shoulders firmly and shook me back and forth. I blinked, and two tears rolled down my cheeks. Dropping the bundle, I rubbed my arms.

Although the weather was warm, I was shivering. Every inch of my skin tingled and my heart pounded so hard that it might burst any moment. I don't know why, but I was scared of something I didn't know. I felt nauseous and cold. I couldn't think of any other details except that I was starting to get sick. I was sweating a lot that my clothes were getting soaked, and the people I wanted to see the most were my mom and dad. Another image appeared in my head - my bedroom, me lying in bed with a thermometer, and Mom feeding me hot porridge while Dad checked the prescription for my medicine. Even when I was nearing the end of my teen years, my parents always cared for me - more like babying me - no matter what. I often thought they were being obsessed with their child for no reason, but then again, it was all because they just loved me.

Would they be wondering where I went? God, I missed my mom dearly right now. Dad would probably be fighting on the phone with the police, demanding where I was. Would they be crying over their missing girl? The thoughts made me cry, too.

My head was swimming, and everything seemed fuzzy. I couldn't breathe well. I was more like gulping for air.

"I... I wanna go home..." I managed to whisper before clutching my stomach and curling up on the ground. I heard squeaks from the two electric pokemons and Volkner shouting something I couldn't understand.

Maybe if I close my eyes and rest a little, everything would be back to normal...

* * *

"...are you sure that it's not the poffins?"

"There's no reason that he, I mean, _she_ would've eaten pokemon food! Besides, _she_ kept her share."

"This isn't food poisoning. There's no sort of damage done by anything invading her body. It's got something to do with nerves..."

The next thing I knew, I was hearing voices. They were being so loud that I was having a splitting headache. I moved my body a bit, and realized I was on a bed with a sheet covered over me. Good, I groaned. I'm either in my room or at a hospital.

I opened my eyes and instantly the voices died down. Seeing that everything was blurry, I guessed my glasses were somewhere else - along with my helmet. I tried getting up, but someone held me down by pushing my shoulder. I looked up to see the outlines of Byron.

"Don't move - you're only going to stress yourself."

"I can't rest with all that noise." I half-whined. I heard a few 'sorry's, and tried going back to sleep. No use - I was totally awake. Sighing, I decided to hear the situation.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You passed out in Amity Square." Gardenia said hoarsely, sitting on the edge of my bed. Even without glasses, I could see that her face was red and puffy. "Thank goodness Volkner was with you - we got help just in time."

"Thank goodness there was a Nurse Joy in the square." I heard Volkner somewhere behind Byron. "After giving you some sedatives, she told us to move you to the pokemon center, so here we are."

"You looked like you were having some sort of stroke or shock." Flint's voice was trembling. "I thought you might've gotten sick by eating the poffins when you were probably allergic to them..."

"I'm telling you, this has nothing to do with poffins!" Volkner snapped. He appeared next to Gardenia and looked down at me. "Anyway, we contacted Fantina to postphone the meeting and photo shoot today, but she told us that everything had been scheduled beforehand, and that it was impossible to change anything. So... we had the meeting without you."

"Huh? I missed the meeting?" Just when I thought I was finally joining the gym leader group, I was absent at an important meeting. Swell, I thought bitterly.

"Yeah... it ended a few hours ago." I looked out the window, and sure enough, it was dark.

"We also took our pictures. And... uh..." Gardenia hesitated before continuing. "Fantina said she's not sure if she should allow your participation, seeing how you disappeared for weeks without a warning before, returning with partial amnesia, and getting sick today quite suddenly. We can't blame her - this contest is extremely important to her and Hearthome."

"So, no photo or contest for me, right?" I asked.

"Well, you're still going to have to come to the Contest Hall and help out. But Fantina probably wouldn't let you on stage." She said.

"What did you talk about in the meeting? Did she say anything about the new appeals?"

"Yeah. But they're mostly the same as the previous visual appeals except for a few changes. The only real new thing is a special Double Battle corner. We're all going to be teamed up as pairs and have a contest tournament." Hmmm, wasn't there something similar to that in the anime?

"Anyway, what happened to you? How come you fell sick?" Flint kicked off his shoes and sat cross-legged on the bed near my feet. "You were riding a bicycle before you got to Hearthome, didn't you?"

"I just got nervous all of a sudden." And I don't want to talk about it, I secretly added.

"Yeah, you could get nervous after babying a pachirisu." Volkner rolled his eyes.

"It's none of your business." I snapped. He glared at me. Gardenia looked at me to him, and stood up.

"I'll bring some cool drinks from the cafeteria." She said as she hurridly left the room. Flint, uncertain to take anyone's side, jumped off the bed and followed her barefoot. After they left, someone else entered.

"I heard you collapsed. Are you okay?" Oh my goodness, that voice of worry... I pushed Byron's hand away and sat upright, only to receive a ringing pain in my head. I squinted briefly before attempting a smile. A tall man in a dark blue suit appeared with a bouquet of yellow flowers. How sweet.

"Thanks for visitng, Riley. I'm fine. What are you doing here in Hearthome?" I managed to continue the conversation. I must not show any weakness in front of him...

"The gym leader meeting is today, so I came to get some training information. Then I heard you were in the pokemon center - bed-ridden again. Here, these are for you. Seriously, did you miss the nurses dearly?" I laughed at his half-joke and accepted the flowers.

"Thanks, they're lovely. You're so considerate." I said fondly. Riley showed concern, and closed his eyes with his hands outstretched.

"Your aura is unstable. You must have had some emotional problems today. May I ask you what happened?" For a brief moment, I thought of opening up to him, but then I pushed that away. I shouldn't make him worry.

"It's not important. I'm fine - really." I told him with a grin. He patted my shoulder in a friendly way, though that action made me go scarlet. Seriously, did this guy had to be this cool?

"Then I guess we should wait for you to get better. Have a nice rest." Then turning to my supposed-father, he said, "Say, Byron? If it's okay with you, I'd like to discuss the mine in Iron Island. It could get lengthy, so shall we go outside?"

"Sure." He picked up his shovel, whirled it around, and pointed it directly at Volkner. "Don't you dare upset her." The other gym leader showed signs of rage building inside, but said nothing. Riley lifted his hat in a polite manner and left with Byron. Volkner kicked the bedside table before sitting on the edge of my bed.

"I'm leaving as soon as Gardenia returns, so don't think that I'll take care of you."

"I don't want anything from you - you're not nice." I retorted, leaning back down. He paused before talking again.

"You know, before you fell unconscious, you said you wanted to go home." I froze. Did he actually hear that?

"If you'd like, we can take you to Oreburgh." He said slowly. I shook my head. "Then... do you want to go to Canalave? I heard you used to play on Iron Island a lot." I shook my head again. Soon, he got impatient.

"Well, then what is this place you call 'home'? Do you have a secret house somewhere nobody knows? Ah, maybe your base underground?" That sarcastic tone again. But I didn't want to fight with him, so I shook my head again and stayed silent.

"You're not going to get any help if you don't talk."

_You're not going to understand what I say, anyways_, I thought. I come from a different world - how am I going to explain that I had warped from a living room couch to someplace in the middle of Eterna Forest?

If I went and checked out the place, would I be able to find some answers...?

I shoved the sheets away and got out of bed, my legs wobbling. I noticed that they hadn't changed my clothes. Good.

"Hey, you shouldn't be moving." Volkner tried to make me sit in the bed again, but instead gave me an opportunity to grab his arm and lean on him.

"Give me my glasses, and helmet. I'm leaving." I said slowly.

* * *

This chapter got longer than intended. I found it hard to cut it midway, so here's the result XD

It will follow the game storyline partially, but will go through a different route. So keep that in mind.

Please review. Anything - suggestions, point outs, advice, and criticism are all welcome. If you don't like how the story is going, then I'm willing to listen to what you've got to say.

Flames will be deleted.


	12. Chapter 12: Live Encounter

Author's Note: Hi! It's been awhile! I had last written this story 6 months ago, and I was quite surprised to see that there were reviews asking for updates! Thank you for your concern!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

"Leaving?" Volkner said in an exasperated tone. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Yes, I am. Satisfied?" I pushed him and looked around the room. I found my helmet dangling from a hat rack, and my glasses were on the bedside table. I put them on.

"For Arceus' sake, why are you being so selfish?" He said quietly. "Everyone's worried about you – and you're just going to leave this place and make them panic?"

"Panic? Just tell them I went outside because I felt better." I responded while fastening my helmet on my head.

"No one's going to believe that. Especially your dear old man."

_He's not my dear old man_, I thought furiously. "Good to know someone cares. See you later." I reached for the door.

"Honestly – you're not getting the point!" Volkner grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me around so I would face him properly.

"Don't just act around like all you want! You're not some kid looking for risky adventure. You're a gym leader and there's a reputation that you have to live up to! Sure, you got freedom. You can do whatever you want but everything comes with a price. You already went missing, got back with amnesia – and that itself attracted a lot of people's attention."

"That wasn't my fault!" I responded angrily.

"Okay, that wasn't your fault. You collapsed in Amity Square today – sure, that's not your fault. But fault or not, people will view you as some weak gym leader who doesn't care about her job or friends and get hospitalized repeatedly for whatever reason. People won't trust you anymore. Do you know how many people in Oreburgh City are already doubtful about you? Do you even know what you are supposed to be to them?"

I hadn't thought about that. In truth, I never realized that a gym leader wasn't just some job given to authorized trainers. Realizing I had calmed down, Volkner let go of me.

"Gym leaders are the city's symbol. Don't think you and your city are separate beings."

I had no retort to that. He was right. If I was going to take on the role of a gym leader, I should act like one.

"If you went outside and collapsed again, we're going to be rather disappointed in you. Not only us gym leaders, but also other trainers."

He gave a slight cough after finishing his long speech. My head felt like it was spinning again, but I absorbed the info nonetheless.

"So, you're still going to go outside?" Volkner asked.

"In this situation, I should say no." I replied calmly.

The door swung open and Gardenia stepped in with canned drinks in her arms. Flint was right behind her, and both of them looked at us standing in the middle of the room.

"_You shouldn't be up so soon!_" She yelled. Dropping everything, she pushed me back into the bed without giving me a chance to take off my helmet. Flint gasped and threw himself to catch the drinks from exploding on the floor.

"Gardenia, wait!" I started, but she already received the drinks from Flint and stocked them around my head.

"No walking around until the doctor says okay!" She said sternly. I nodded with an awkward grin and took off my helmet. When I glanced at Volkner, he was looking rather amused at the sudden turn of events, but perhaps relieved that I wasn't going to leave. After a while, Byron and Riley came back, still discussing training manuals, and I decided Eterna Forest was going to have to wait till later.

* * *

I took Volkner's words and returned to Oreburgh City the next day. While the other gym leaders were probably busy preparing for the upcoming Gym Leader Contest, I focused on battling the rookie trainers who hoped for badges. I accepted every challenge – some I won, some I lost. However, I promised myself not to neglect what I was here for. The gym was the best place to train Cranidos, and positive rumors started here. The miners' children often bugged me for battle tips, and I taught them nicely – thank goodness I watched the anime enough to tell them likely stuff.

At night, I took out Roark's diary and checked the news for any signs of Team Galactic. After Eterna City, they're going to be at Lake Valor, and blow up the place to get Azelf. The question is, when would they do so? If I remember correctly, that happens way after the player character gets the sixth badge. Would Dawn be able to stop them, or have I already corrupted the storyline too much?

* * *

A few days later, I received an envelope from a Staravia Delivery Service. I tore it open, and it was an invitation to the Gym Leaders' Contest – a seat ticket, and a note asking me to help backstage before the show. So Fantina decided not to set me up on stage. Wise choice, if you ask me. I didn't like performing in front of large audiences anyways. I checked the time, and saw that it was going to be done in the evening. However, I realized I had no means of transportation available. I hadn't contacted Mira, so chances that she'd come to Teleport me were very low. I left my bike somewhere in Hearthome City, and hadn't retrieved it yet. I didn't have a Flying-Type pokemon, and of course, not even a pokemon to ride. I decided to travel on foot, and to make sure Cranidos could protect me on the way I took him to the pokemon center for proper healing.

There, I met a familiar face.

"Hi, Roark!" A girl in a pink skirt and white hat greeted me. Dawn? What was she doing here?

"Hi, Dawn. What brings you here?"

"I dug out a fossil from the Underground, and came back to revive it!" She said excitedly. "I left the Armor Fossil at the museum – they told me to give them some time, so I dropped by the pokemon center. I'm going to get a Shieldon! How cool is that?"

"Sounds nice." I said while placing Cranidos' pokeball on the nurse's tray.

"I'm going to see the Gym Leaders' Contest tomorrow! Say – you're a gym leader, too! You're going to be there, right?" She asked with her eyes sparkling in anticipation.

"Well, _technically_, I'm going to be there – " I started. But Dawn interrupted mid-sentence.

"I'll be looking forward to seeing you on stage! I'm sure I would be able to learn a few tricks from you!" With that, she received her pokeballs from the nurse and left the pokemon center to go get her newly revived pokemon. I sighed. Too bad I'm going to have to let her down.

* * *

I was going to travel directly to Hearthome through the Southern Cavern of Mt. Coronet, so I calculated it to take less time than when I went all the way around Eterna City. I set out after having breakfast, and went east to the cave. It was dimly lit by the lights set up inside, so with the help of my helmet flashlight I could easily navigate through. On the way, I met a few hikers and said hello. Zubats sometimes attacked us, but due to the training I did with Cranidos, we defeated them easily.

Halfway through the cave, I spotted someone standing near some large rocks. Perhaps another hiker? I was about to say hello, when that person turned around and I nearly had a heart attack.

A tall man, with tired features, blue hair sticking up, and a silver space-suit vest.

_Cyrus._

I had forgotten all about him. The player character was supposed to meet him in Mt. Coronet! I hid myself behind one of the boulders near me, hushing Cranidos.

"According to one theory, Mt. Coronet is where the Sinnoh region began. In a newly created world... A world where only time flowed and space expanded.. There should have been no strife." Cyrus said to himself. He paused, and I was guessing that he was lost in thought.

My heart pounded hard. I glanced at Cranidos and at Cyrus. Should I attack him? If I take him down now then the world is saved even before Team Galactic actually does anything. The question is, will I be able to take care of him? If he summoned his pokemons, I might be in danger. I don't know how powerful his pokemons are right now, but judging by the fact he's the boss of a criminal syndicate, my Cranidos wouldn't stand a chance. Having Cranidos attack Cyrus before he could do anything seemed like a good idea, but on second thoughts, I might accidentally kill him and land in jail. Then the rest of Team Galactic would seek revenge on me. Yikes.

Maybe I could fight him fist-to-fist? But I'm a girl – I don't have the strength to strangle him manually. Besides, at this point, nobody knows he's the boss of Team Galactic – I might get arrested for attacking an 'innocent citizen'.

"But what became of that world? Because the human spirit is weak and incomplete, strife has appeared... This world is being ruined by it...I find the state of things to be deplorable..." Cyrus continued. He sighed and started to leave his spot.

What should I do? What should I do? Just let him go? Do I have to let him go right in front of my very eyes? But whatever I try, it's all going to affect me negatively. There was also the possibility that he might want to get rid of anyone who might be a potential threat… Blood was coursing through my body very quickly that I was feeling dizzy, but I needed to take action – do something!

"Wait - !" I called out as I dashed out of my hiding place. Cyrus spun around and held a pokeball in his hand – probably ready for a battle. I tripped over Cranidos – the latter roaring in pain when I kicked his tail – and collided into a wall. Zubats started squeaking angrily and flew down from the ceiling to attack me. I heard a deep voice calmly say -

"Air Cutter!"

No! He's going to kill me while I can't do anything! I screamed while a whoosh of air scratched my helmet and all the Zubats ended up stuck on the wall like stickers.

Huh?

"You have disturbed the sacred grounds. What you deserved was right." Cyrus said coldly. A Golbat flapped behind him, glaring at me evilly. I gulped and hugged Cranidos, despite the little dinosaur struggling in complaint. Now this was really scary…he could have his Golbat attack me anytime…

"However, you are a renowned miner, second to your father. An expert in underground resources, and reviver of the lost pokemon. We could be alike in some ways…" Without bothering to say more, he called back his Golbat in the pokeball and left the cavern. I waited until I could no longer hear his footsteps, and breathed. A wave of relief and disappointment mixed – I couldn't stop him, and I wouldn't have been able to. I could see that his Golbat was on a much higher level than my Cranidos could handle.

"I guess we should meet again sometime later, Cyrus." I whispered. Pulling myself up, I apologized to Cranidos for hurting him, and quickly left the cave for Hearthome.

* * *

Author's Note: Quotes have been taken from Pokemon DPPt, GameFreak. Reviews are welcome, and flames will be deleted.


	13. Chapter 13: Contest Hall

Author's Note: It's been quite a while, and I'm back :) Anyone who's been waiting for a new chapter, I greatly appreciate your patience. Anyone who's new to my story, welcome!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

* * *

I got out of the cavern, feeling very uncomfortable. I was relieved I didn't die, but I let go of a dangerous criminal. I was too weak to do anything by myself. Cranidos looked at me with a worried expression.

"Don't mind." I said brightly. At least I haven't stopped the flow of the story…

When I arrived at Hearthome City, it was already after noon. Even though the show was to begin in the evening, there was a long line formed outside the Contest Hall. There were people of all ages, but the majority was girls. I could see groups of people wearing the same shirt – probably a fan club. And from all the yellow, I could guess whose fans they were.

I walked around the road and found a back door. There were two guards trying to push away a whining group of girls.

"Please? Pretty please? Just this once?"

"Only just for five minutes, please! Besides, we have our tickets!"

"Then you're going to have to go line up," one of the guards said gruffly. "Get back to the front entrance."

"Awww…" the girls moaned.

I shook my head before approaching the guards.

"Excuse me. I have to get in."

The guards looked at me up and down before roaring with laughter.

"Hah! That's some convincing cosplay you've done. Sorry, but you're not getting in, either."

What? Cosplay? So he thinks I'm a fangirl dressed as Roark? Well, from the real world view I am, but in this world, I'm him!

"Actually, I have a note from Fantina. Here – " I presented Fantina's letter to the guard.

"There's no telling if you wrote it." He just waved it away. Cranidos started growling with irritation. The group of girls snickered. I rolled my eyes before talking to the guard again.

"Then how about you contact Fantina – tell her there's this weird fangirl dressed as Roark who _supposedly_ has a letter from her and has a cranidos. It should amuse her." I said sarcastically.

"Good point." The guard chuckled. He pulled out his cellphone and started dialing for real. I raised my eyebrows – I was half-joking about making a call.

"Ms. Fantina, there's a girl dressed as Roark who says she has your letter…" the guard's expression changed. He glanced at me and his partner twice before lowering his voice and whispering a few things. After he hung up, he took off his hat and opened the back door.

"My deepest apologies." He muttered.

The group of girls stood there, stunned. When I got in, it was my turn to giggle.

"Now… Cranidos, shall we go?"

* * *

I was in front of a set of stairs leading to the basement floor. I guessed that was where everyone was preparing backstage. The more steps I took, I could hear voices getting louder and louder.

"…just don't talk too much. Drink some warm water."

A worried voice said behind a closed door. I knocked before opening it.

"There's plenty of time left before the show starts. Try to get some rest – oh, hello!"

Gardenia was the first to greet me. I nodded and went inside. It was a staff lounge, equipped with a large sofa and an armchair with a coffee table. Fantina, Candice, and Maylene were also there, but their expressions were less than cheery. Fantina gave me a look of disdain before sighing.

"I'll go and rearrange the programs so Candice can perform last. I really cannot afford any more gym leaders to ruin this event."

'Any more gym leaders'? It seems there's quite a bit of problems involved. Maybe I'm not the only person who made her adjust her plans. Some of my guilt lifted, and I turned my attention to Candice, who was sitting in the armchair coughing while Maylene was pouring hot tea into a cup.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked.

"Candice' voice is hoarse. She said she's been working late into the night taking care of a sick Snover." Maylene replied.

"It wouldn't be a problem if Candice just has to participate in the contest tournament. It's the gym leader appeal section – the trainer and the partner pokemon have to perform together."

"And…?" I could easily guess.

"Candice said she would sing with her froslass. We all thought it was a good idea because froslass have beautiful voices, and they can 'breathe' ice so she'd also be able to do an appeal, but…"

"How about lip-syncing?"

"None of us know what song she's going to do, and she doesn't have a recording of it. Apparently, it's an old traditional song from Snowpoint City."

Gardenia looked at the clock on the wall and back at Candice, concerned.

"Fantina, maybe we should just change her performing time into something like an intermission." She said. Candice started to protest, but Maylene shoved the cup of hot tea in her hands.

"Drink up, and don't say a word. We should get going – I'll try come up with something and stall a bit for you. Fantina, there's only three hours left. You should go check the stage."

Maylene placed the pot of tea on the coffee table and went out another door with both Fantina and Gardenia.

"Please take care of Candice for us, Roark."

I nodded as they closed the door. Just as they left, I heard Candice trying to clear her throat.

"No, don't do that." I looked around the lounge to see if there were any blankets, but there were none. Then I remembered my mining jacket and took it off. I dusted it before handing it to her.

"I know you're used to the cold, but still, you should keep yourself warm."

Candice looked at me oddly but accepted it and placed it over her body. I took off my helmet and placed my bag on the floor. Cranidos came to me, arms waving as I took out a box of pokemon food. We didn't have any lunch, so the little guy was probably starving.

"Here you go." He happily took them. The lounge was now silent except for the crunches of Cranidos eating his lunch. Candice simply just watched us. When I looked back at her, she pulled my jacket up to her nose and turned to her side. It felt awkward to be in the same room with someone who I wasn't familiar with. No, I knew what she was like in the _games–_ just that I wasn't personally familiar with her. After a while, I heard gentle breathing. I quietly checked on her, and found that she fell asleep. Good – maybe a nap would help with her voice.

* * *

I left Cranidos to watch Candice and went out the other door to see if there were any vending machines. There wasn't anything in the lounge to eat except pokemon food, so I was feeling pretty hungry. There was a long, dark hallway with several doors. Each had a name plate, so I guessed they were dressing rooms. A vending machine was at the far end of the hallway, so luckily I didn't have to search around. The staff members were busily walking around, delivering equipment here and there. Some of them took notice of me, but mostly ignored where I was going.

There were posters all over the hallway. 7 different posters, feature each of the gym leaders. I saw Volkner's and had to admit he looked rather cool with his Luxray. Maybe I can sell these at a high price if I take some with me to the real world – his fans would pay anything for such a rare poster.

I got Lava Cookies and a Moomoo Milk. Helping myself to the snacks, I read a schedule of the programs next to the vending machine. The gym leader appeals were first, then the double battle tournament. Last was a special encore stage. I wonder what that would be.

"…so send Maylene first on stage since she's prepared."

I heard Fantina talking, and peeked around the corner to find her with a woman scribbling hastily on a clipboard.

"Crasher Wake will be next – he's going to be wrestling his Floatzel anyways. Be sure there are enough ponchos. Gardenia goes third and the lights should be bright enough. Oh, and set the cords ready. Volkner's going to be performing as a band."

Whoa, did I hear that right? A band? That's impressive. I pictured a raichu playing on an electric guitar, but somehow the image changed to a pichu playing on a ukulele. I giggled.

"What about Byron?" the woman asked. Fantina let a very exasperated sigh. That's when I stopped laughing.

"That…stupid…fossil maniac. He's probably going to brag to people on how much he likes his fossils. Just let him do whatever he wants. Leave enough room for Candice, though."

What did she mean by that? Bragging about fossils didn't sound like an appropriate appeal for a contest. I finished my snack and looked at the dressing room doors and found Byron's room. I knocked, and heard a rough answer.

"Hey, Byr – I mean, Dad!"

"Ah, so you're here."

Byron was lying down on a sofa with a serious expression. I wondered if there was anything wrong with him as well.

"Dad, someone briefed me on today's schedule, and your individual appeal doesn't sound…like an appeal."

"I'm not one to perform on stage. This whole – _sparkly_ stuff is too fancy. I feel out of place."

I understood what he was talking about. I was also uncomfortable with fancy stuff, and performing in front of people wasn't exactly my forte.

"Fantina's counting on the gym leaders to help her. Come on, be professional, Dad. This will be a great opportunity to show how fossil pokemons can be beautiful."

"I'd prefer to show them by battles. I tried to think of something while digging up spheres all week, but nothing really came to mind…"

"Why didn't you talk to me?"

He didn't answer and instead looked thoughtfully at the sack full of spheres. I assumed he was just embarrassed to discuss with his kid about his problems. In the games, he wouldn't even talk about training with Roark as well. I glanced at the sack of spheres, too. There were plenty in all shapes and sizes. They glittered under the light of the room…

Glittered…

An image popped up inside my head. A dazzling waterfall…fireworks…

"Dad, spheres are rocks, right?"

"Rocks? More like minerals – "

"No, like, if you have a pokemon use an attack – Rock Slide, for instance – could spheres be used?"

"Technically, yes. Why?"

My gym battles with Dawn and a fleeting moment I experienced in Eterna City went through my mind.

"Dad," I grinned. "I think I can give you some options."


End file.
